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HESPERIA. 


THEME. 

AsTRiEA,  the  Genius  of  Liberty  and  Justice,  seeks 
a  dwelling-place  upon  the  earth.  Persecuted  and 
driven  from  land  to  land,  she  follows  the  evening  star 
and  finds  at  last  a  beautiful  kingdom  in  the  western 
world  ;  this  becomes  her  home  and  the  birthplace  of 
her  beloved  daughter  Hesperia. 

Erotion,  the  Genius  of  Love  and  Fidelity,  the  hus- 
band of  Astrsea  and  father  to  Hesperia,  after  many 
wanderings  in  search,  at  last  joins  the  objects  of  his 
love  and  care.  Reunited,  they  preside  over  this  new 
land  and  seek  to  preserve  it  for  their  child's  inher- 
itance. They  are  recognized  and  cherished  by  a 
small  band  of  devoted  followers,  who  summon  them 
to  their  councils  in  the  city  of  Fraternia. 

At  first  Liberty  and  Love  prevail,  but  Astraea  dis- 
covers the  presence  of  a  serpent  who  breathes  on 
her  a*  subtle  poison,  and  she  (with  Erotion)  is  slain. 

Llamia,  the  serpent  of  policy,  then  controls  and 
takes  in  charge  the  beautiful  child  Hesperia ;  seek- 
ing to  unite  her  in  marriage  to  her  foul  son  Slavery 
—  who  must  be  nameless  evermore  ;  but  Hesperia 


is  warned  by  the  Genius  of  Nature,  Calios,  who,  in 
the  guise  of  a  poet  and  magician,  holds  sway  even 
over  Llamia.  When  Hesperia  beholds  him  she  rec- 
ognizes her  soul's  counterpart,  and  is  prepared,  by 
his  words  and  love,  to  resist  all  the  evil  machinations 
of  Llamia  and  her  son. 

Llamia,  however,  holds  temporary  power  over  the 
form  of  Hesperia,  and  succeeds  in  throwing  a  spell 
around  the  maiden  which  she  vainly  imagines  will 
prove  fatal ;  the  love  of  her  parents  and  of  Calios 
rouses  her  spirit,  and  with  them  she  withdraws  into 
the  world  of  souls,  where,  for  a  time,  she  beholds  the 
scenes  enacted  under  the  influence  of  Llamia.  She 
witnesses  in  Athenia  and  Crescentia  deeds  of  horror 
and  the  tortures  inflicted  upon  the  oppressed.  Calios 
sings  to  her  in  plaintive  songs  of  these  down-trod- 
den ones,  lures  her  by  the  voices  of  nature,  and  in 
interludes  of  Love  and  Truth  seeks  to  win  her  back 
to  her  earthly  kingdom. 

Long  years  does  Llamia  hold  sway  and  at  last 
wakens  the  voice  of  war ;  when  Astraea,'  not  dead, 
but  only  withdrawn  ,  for  a  space,  turns  the  sword  of 
Llamia  upon  her  son. 

Through  long  suffering  is  Hesperia  made  strong 
and  pure.  She  listens  to  the  voice  of  Nature's  chil- 
dren and  their  tortures  cease  ;  slavery  and  war  are 
known  no  more.  Astraea  and  Erotion  are  again  the 
attendant  and  abiding  souls  of  this  fair  land;  they 
witness  with  rapture  and  benedictions  the  union  of 
Calios  and  Hesperia,  who  rule  with  undivided  sway 
over  the  most  lovely  Empire  of  the  Earth. 


HESPERIA. 


BY 


.CORA  L.  V.  TAPPAN. 

K 


REMOTE  STORAGb 


1871. 


Entered  a,ccordmg  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  187 1,  by 

Cora  L.  V.  Tappan, 
in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


RIVERSIDE,  Cambridge: 

STEREOTYPED   AND    PRINTED  BY 
H.  O.  HOUGHTON  AND  COMPANY. 


TO  THE 

FUTURE  REPUBLIC. 


1 


r 


CONTENTS. 

Induction                                                    .      ,      .  i 

BOOK  1. 

AsTR^A :  Dedication  .9 

Prelude   11 

PART  I. 

ASTR^A         .         ,         .         ...         .         .         .         .         ...  25 

Song  of  Astr.^a   28 

Erotion  and  Astr^a   34 

PART  II. 

Fraternia  :  Dedication   .45 

Fraternia   47 

PART  III. 

Llamia  :  Dedication   63 

Llamia   65 

Calios,  the  Poet                                                        .  69 

Heart  Song  of  Hesperia   74 

Interlude  •      •      •  77 

The  Spell                                           ....  86 


PART  IV. 

Crescentia  :  Dedication      ........  93 

Cresce-ntia                                                     .      .  95 

Anathema   99 

Margaret    .      .      .      .      .      .      .      .      .      .  loi 

PART  V. 

Athenia  :  Dedication  .   105 

Athenia   107 

Hymn  to  the  Rock  of  Pilgrims             .      .      .      .  109 

The  Fugitive     .      .      ...      .      .      .  .     .      .  115 

BOOK  II.. 

OuiNA :  Dedication   123 

Prelude                                                               ,  125 

PART  1. 

Shenandoah  .      .      .   127 

OUINA  .  128 

Cliona   129 

OuiNA,  Childhood     ........  133 

Kanawa     146 

Requiem  to  Ouina     .      .      .      ...      .      .      .  149 

Interlude      .      .      .      .      .      .      ...      .  .151 

PART  II. 

Laus  Natura  :  Dedication   15^ 

Prelude   157 

Laus  Natura   161 

Powhatan      ,                                                         .  168 


CONTENTS.  vii 

Pocahontas   170 

Massasoit   173 

King  Philip   175 

Canonicus   178 

Canonchet   179 

Garangula   180 

Tecumseh   181 

Logan   182 

Osceola   185 

Pontiac   187 

s  agoyawatha   1 89 

Hymn  to  the  Mississippi  .   192 

moketavata   302 

Interlude   210 

Benediction  :  Dedication   .      .      .      .      .      .  .219 

Retribution  :  Red   221 

Compensation  :  White   224 

Prophecy  :  Blue   229 


INDUCTION. 


I. 

ON  a  high  rock,  o'erhanguig  the  sad  sea, 
Round  which  the  wild  waves  dash  unceasingly, 
Tossing  their  tempest  arms  tumultuously, 

I  saw  a  wondrous  woman  fearless  stand, 
Turning  her  weary  face  from  the  drear  strand, 
Stretching  toward  the  sea  her  snowy  hand. 

III. 

Her  silver  locks  around  her  feet  did  flow, 
The  blossom  of  a  strange,  unearthly  woe, 
Meeting  the  white  bloom  of  the  spray  below. 

IV. 

No  touch  of  treacherous  time  was  there,  nor  trace 
Of  dull  decay,  to  mar  her  perfect  grace. 
But  a  strange  pallor  dwelt  upon  her  face. 


2 


HESPERIA, 


V. 

And  O,  'twere  joy  to  look  into  those  eyes, 
Half  filled  with  tears,  like  dews  of  paradise. 
And  lighted  with  the  fires  of  prophecies. 

VI. 

Long  stood  she  musing  thus,  as  if  to  gaze 
Through  the  low  weary  mists  and  darkened  maze 
Of  ages  past  and  unforgotten  days. 

VII. 

She  seemed  as  one  awakened  from  sleep, 
But  not  as  oft  before  to  watch  and  weep  ; 
Her  fair  form  now  a  burden  sweet  did  keep. 

VIII. 

O,  mouth  of  many  mighty  melodies  ! 

She  spoke,  and  richest,  sweetest  symphonies 

Filled  all  the  vibrant  air  with  harmonies: 

IX. 

Old  Neptune,  raptured  by  the  magic  tone 

Of  that  sweet  voice,  ceased  for  a  while  to  moan  ; 

Sabrina,  too,  heard  music  like  her  own. 

X. 

"Closed  are  yon  gates  of  porphyry  and  gold; 
For  me  the  Orient  no  charms  can  hold. 
The  clouds  of  amethyst  no  more  enfold 


INDUCTION,  3^ 
XI. 

"  The  young  world's  Eden  :  desolate  decay 
Sits  at  the  gates  of  morn  and  e'er  doth  prey 
Upon  the  nations  till  they  pass  away. 

XII. 

"The  Crescent,  like  a  deadly  serpent,  holds 
Earth's  first-born  nations  in  its  fiery  folds  j 
And  rank  corruption  hides  them  'neath  its  moulds. 

XIII. 

"Closed,  closed  on  this  side  darkest  to  my  sight. 
The  other  holds,  perchance,  some  ray  of  light, 
For  Jove  can  fashion  light  from  deepest  night. 

XIV. 

"  Ye  fairest  twain,  my  first  and  latest  born, 
Cradled  and  nursed  in  splendors  of  the  morn, 
E'en  now  your  beauty  doth  my  life  adorn; 

xv.^ 

"When  from  your  gemmed  isles,  fair  Greece,  I  flew, 
And  o'er  the  Adriatic  waste  withdrew 
To  where  the  Tiber  pours  its  deadly  dew, 

1  The  xvth  and  xvith  stanzas  were  suggested  by  the  following 
lines  ;  — 

"  When  Liberty  from  Greece  withdrew, 
And  o'er  the  Adriatic  flew 

To  where  the  Tiber  pours  his  urn, 
She  struck  the  rude  Tarpeian  Rock ; 
Sparks  were  kindled  by  the  shock  — 

Again  thy  fires  began  to  burn." 


4 


HESPERIA, 


XVI. 

"My  feet  were  torn  on  the  Tarpeian  Rock, 
And  Freedom's  fires  were  kindled  by  the  shock; 
But  Death  his  dreadful  doors  on  thee  did  lock  : 

XVII. 

"  And  thou,  fair  daughter  of  the  earth  and  sea, 
Holding  all  sacred  things  'twixt  heaven  and  me,  — 
Thou  nearest  and  thou  dearest  Italy!  , 

XVIII. 

"  I  cradled  thee  amid  those  amber  seas, 
Till  thou  wert  bright  as  heaven's  Pleiades, 
Nor  saw  beyond  the  gates  of  Hercules 


XIX. 

"That  I  must  pass,  deserted  and  alone, 
From  land  to  land,  from  weary  zone  to  zone, 
A  childless  mother  \  yet  I  will  not  ■  moan. 

XX. 

"  Closed  are  the  sapphire  oceans,  where  arose . 
Pale  Arethusa  from  her  bed  of  snows. 
Her  white  lips  silent  with  unspoken  woes. 


XXI. 

"Those  Hyperborean  wastes  no  power  can  move, 
They  hold  the  secrets  of  Great  Nature's  love. 
Which  she  in  silent  power  must  ever  prove. 


INDUCTION, 


XXII. 

"Europe  shall  feel  my  breath,  erewhile  she  hates 
And  loathes  me  and  my  children,  but  she  waits 
Until  slow  tyranny  unlock  the  gates. 

XXIII. 

"Let  Cross  and  Crescent  bar  the  doors  of  pearl, 
Let  em'rald  waters  all  their  wild  waves  hurl, 
Hope  doth  her  banner  brightly  now  unfurl." 

XXIV. 

From  the  rich  splendors  of  the  purple  east. 
And  from  the  power  of  Gorgon-headed  beast, 
Alluring  nations  to  its  upas  feast, 

XXV. 

Freedom  now  turned ;  her  face  had  paler  grown, 
As  though  her  sorrows  were  not  all  her  own. 
And  her  deep  voice  bore  a  prophetic  tone. 

XXVI. 

Her  hand  now  swept  toward  the  glowing  west 
In  one  grand  gesture  full  of  deep  unrest, 
Kindling  a  sudden  flame  on  nature^s  breast ; 

XXVII. 

From  the  broad  belt  of  beauteous  land  that  lies 
Between  the  southern  cross  and  northern  skies, 
She  chose  the  fairest  for  her  paradise. 


6 


HESPER^A. 


XXVIII. 

From  sea  to  sea  she  cast  her  shivering  glance, 
In  one  full  gleam  of  a  prophetic  trance, 
Which  probed  the  future  like  a  lightning  lance  : 

XXIX. 

Sandaled  with  plumes  of  thought,  her  spirit  sent 

Its  living  form  across  the  continent,  — 

A  thousand  leagues,  on  its  great  purpose  bent. 

XXX. 

She  touched  an  ocean  with  each  loving  hand. 
And  deftly  wrought,  with  her  own  wondrous  wand. 
Rich  robes,  for  the  new  princess  of  ^he  land  : 

XXXI. 

White  robes  from  clouds,  and  mountain  mists,  and  sheen 
Of  silver  waters ;  vestments  of  bright  green 
^Broidered  with  flowers,  from  hills  and  vales  between  j 

XXXII. 

Rich  emVald  robes  reaching  to  either  sea. 
Fold  after  fold  flowing  wonderfully. 
Beaded  with  spray  and  foam-like  tracery; 

XXXIII. 

Slippers,  fitted  for  smallest,  fairest  feet,  <• 
Enwrought  with  island  gems,  more  fair  and  sweet 
Than  all  the  isles  where  eastern  waters  meet ; 


INDUCTION, 


7 


XXXIV. 

Bracelets  and  bands  of  silver  mountain  streams, 
Whose  diamond  sources  flashed  the  many  beams 
Of  day,  brighter  than  opalescent  gleams  ; 

XXKV. 

Broad  river  girdles,  bodices  of  flame, 
Widening  to  lakes,  each  one  a  living  name 
Of  wonder,  which  no  other  land  can  claim ; 

XXXVI. 

All  fragrant  with  perfumes  of  starry  flowers, 
Distilled  by  Flora  and  her  maids,  the  Hours, 
Making  sweet  music  with  their  winged  powers  j 

XXXVII. 

A  crown,  from  shining  shafts  of  mountain  heights. 
Whose  diamond  sword-points  cleave  the  darkest  nights, 
And  mock  the  starry  hosts  with  their  clear  lights; 

XXXVIII. 

Reflecting  all  hues,  holding  only  one, — 
The  threefold  light  of  Heaven's  perfect  sun, 
Revealed  in  the  whiteness  of  His  Son. 

XXXIX. 

Then  through  the  red  and  white  of  sunset  dyes, 
A  chasm  of  starry  blue  inspired  her  eyes, 
And  glory,  like  God's  smile,  adorned  the  skies. 


8 


HESPERIA. 


XL. 

Urania  found  her  as  she  proudly  stood 

Expectant,  for  her  matchless  motherhood 

Saw  all  her  work,  and  smiled  that  it  was  good. 

XLI. 

Then,  from  the  womb  of  Freedom's  weary  night 
There  burst  a  sudden  dawn,  as  clear  and  bright 
As  on  that  morn  when  Gfod  first  called  the  light. 

XLII. 

As  sprang  Minerva  from  the  brow  of  Jove, 
Most  potent  among  mighty  minds  that  move, 
Hesperia  was  born,  the  Child  of  Love. 


BOOK  1. 
ASTR.E  A. 


DEDICATED  TO  MY  MOTHER. 


PRELUDE. 


I. 


AIN,  vain,  the  painter's  skill 


The  daisy  meadow  holds 

A  hue  no  art  can  boast ; 

The  Iris  arch  uprears 

Its  matchless,  crescent  dome  ; 

The  mountain  glacier  gleams 

Near  the  cerulean  sky. 

Which,  flecked  with  fleecy  clouds, 

Changes  but  cannot  die. 

In  autumn  sunset  glow 

All  gorgeous  colors  blend, 

As  though  a  million  gems 

Had  molten  fire  become. 

Splashing  the  trees  with  flame 

And  kindling  to  the  sky  ; 

The  insect's  tiny  wing 

Of  opalescent  light. 

Transcends  all  touch  of  art ; 

And  every  living  thing, 

Between  the  day  and  night 

Of  God's  great  mind  and  earth. 

Reveals  His  Master  Hand. 

Correggio's  rare  gift, 


nature's  grace,  — 


HESPERIA. 


Those  peerless  forms  to  trace 
On  shores  of  shining  sand, 
Where  shells  of  tinted  rose 
And  crystal  waters  gleam, 
Reflecting  beauty's  grace ; 
Or  Raphael's  high  thought, 
Like  an  inspired  dream 
Of  Heaven,  ensphered  in  love, 
In  which  Christ's  mother  shone 
In  every  lovely  face,  , 
And  every  cherub  boy 
Was  but  a  budding  thought 
Of  Him  named  Deity  ; 
Or  Rembrandt's  deeper  shade 
Of  coloring  intense, 
In  which  each  passion  glowed, 
As  though  the  thought  itself 
Had  burst  the  bonds  of  sense, 
And  was  absorbed  in  hue 
And  deepest,  darkest  tints, 
Till  it  embodied  came, 
And  was  a  thing  of  life. 
Yet  all  in  vain,  for  these 
Are  but  the  cast-off  robes. 
While  the  true  Artist's  soul 
Is  ever  clothed  anew, 
Even  as  nature  casts 
Her  bright  apparel  down 
Robing  herself  in  light. 


PRELUDE, 


II. 

Vainly  the  sculptor  stands 
With  ready  lifted  glaive, 
And  chisel  fine  as  thread 
Of  maiden's  silken  tress. 
A  shape,  indeed,  of  grace 
Appears  beneath  his  hand, 
But  ah !  no  life  is  there,  — 
The  polished  face  is  cold, 
The  rounded  form  is  dead  ; 
Not  all  the  art  of  earth 
Can  breathe  incarnate  fire 
Through  kindling  arteries, 
Or  nerves  of  thrilling  light 
Motion  is  art:  whoe'er 
Has  made  a  moving  form, — 
Be  it  a  white  winged  sail, 
A  horse  with  fiery  breath, 
A  million  arms  of  power 
Uplifting  those  who  toil. 
Or  mounting,  cleaves  the  air 
With  wond'rous  globes  of  space 
He  is  indeed  a  god. 
But  chiseled  statues  stand 
The  emblems  of  a  thought 
Which  has  grown  old  and  gray, 
And  which  the  hand  of  time 
Plucks  from  its  pedestal 
And  proudly  flings  away. 
While  motion  ever  holds 
The  living  infant's  form. 


HE  S  PERI  A. 


And  one  babe  at  the  breast 
Drinking  its  fill  of  life, 
With  moving  dimpled  limbs, 
Is  better  than  all  shapes 
Of  sculptor's  finest  art. 

III. 

Vain  is  high  Poesy  : 

The  greatest  thoughts  have  wings 

Before  we  catch  our  breath 

To  sing  our  highest  song, 

Our  bird  is  out  of  sight; 

We  pluck  a  falling  plume. 

We  stand  upon  the  shore, 

The  sea-song  rolls  afar  j 

A  drop  of  silver  spray 

Touches  our  burning  lips, 

We  drink  who  are  athirst, 

And  call  that  drop  our  song. 

Imagination  lends 

Her  silver  sandaled  plumes. 

We  mount  amid  the  stars 

Striving  to  crown  our  brows 

With  their  bright  diadems,  — 

A  meteoric  light 

Is  all  we  bring  to  earth) 

Heaven  never  gave  its  stars,  — 

Only  their  broken  beams. 

The  Hebraic  bards  sublime 

Chanted  their  hymns  of  praise 

In  deeds  and  words  of  love, 

Or  worship  unto  God, 


PRELUDE, 

And  only  left  their  torn 

And  tattered  shreds  of  thought 

For  us  to  gather  up 

And  call  the  Word  of  God. 

In  vain  great  Homer's  lay, 

Save  to  perpetuate 

The  errors  and  the  crimes 

Of  rankest  unbelief,  — 

Unless  indeed  we  draw 

Aside  the  charmed  veil. 

And  read,  as  Homer  did, 

Nature,  and  feel  her  soul. 

In  vain  the  Prophet  Bards 

Have  sung  their  silver  songs; 

The  sound  has  died  away, 

But  fragments  of  the  fire 

That  kindled  on  their  lips 

And  burned  their  life  away. 

Alone  are  left  for  those 

Who  touch,  like  them,  the  heights 

Of  that  eternal  mount. 

Where  poesy  becomes 

A  form  of  living  Truth. 

IV. 

Vain,  vain,  the  master  mind 
Fashioned  St.  Peter's  dome, 
The  builder's  coarser  brain 
No  perfect  plan  could  hold. 
O,  Angelo,  thy  thought 
To  blend  the  bending  sky 
With  the  cloud  curtained  earth 


HESPERIA. 


Was  lost  in  thy  own  mind; 

Or  it  perchance  became 

The  temple  of  that  sphere 

Wherein  thy  perfect  soul 

Hath  now  its  blest  abode. 

Egypt's  proud  pyramids 

May  pierce  the  Orient ; 

Those  towers,  domes,  and  spires 

Are  bathed  in  morning  light; 

Colossal  monuments 

Of  the  first  years  of  time, 

Ruins  of  cities  vast 

Reared  in  the  world's  young  prime 

And  consecrate  to  Art, 

And  to  Religion  kind. 

O,  Rome,  with  all  thy  spires. 

Thy  shafts  and  obelisks. 

Thy  pillars  and  thy  dim 

And  dark  cathedral  aisles. 

Thy  sacred  works  and  words. 

Thy  crowning  splendors  all,  —  - 

Vain  are  thy  treasured  walls  ; 

The  blue  Italian  sky 

Bends  in  one  living  dome 

Encircling,  star  enwrought. 

Upheld  by  pictured  hills. 

And  pillared  with  the  clouds 

That  rest  on  sea  and  shore. 

Yes,  vain,  for  Alpine  heights 

Still  kindle  in  the  morn. 

And  Chimborazo's  peak 

Pierces  with  shaft  of  flame 


PRELUDE, 


The  vaulted  chasm  of  air ; 
The  Andes  lift  their  brows 
Against  the  hand  of  God, 
And  all  the  world  is  held 
By  matchless  masonry. 

V. 

Vain,  vain  is  music's  breath, 
Though  reaching  up  to  heaven  ;  ^ 
A  thousand  warblers  wake 
The  wild  woods  with  their  notes, 
And  from  a  myriad  throats 
Scatter  their  melody : 
The  skylark  is  not  dead, 
The  nightingale  still  sings 
Her  lonely  love  lament 
Through  the  long  summer  nights  ; 
(The  anthems  of  the  sea  still  sound  exultingly.) 

In  vain  the  master  minds 
Of  harmony  have  poured 
Their  music  o'er  the  world ; 
The  weird  winds  still  weave 
Their  wondrous  minstrelsy : 
Shivering  silver  sighs 
From  trembling  aspen  leaves  ; 
Broad  peans  from  the  pines, — 
The  matchless  murm'ring  pines. 
The  writhing,  wailing  pines. 
The  sighing,  sobbing  pines. 
The  music  haunted  pines, — 
And  weeping  willow  boughs ; 

2 


i8 


HESPERIA. 


O,  forest  harps,  we  weep 
For  melody  like  yours  ; 
(The  anthems  of  the  sea  still  sound  exultingly.) 

Vain,  Mozart,  was  thy  tone, 
Like  a  clear  voice  from  Heaven  ; 
Whose  grand  interpreter 
Thou  wert,  and  who  hast  given, 
In  syllables  of  fire 
Vibrating  from  thy  soul. 
Nature's  high  symphonies, — 
In  vain,  unless  we  too 
Float  in  that  atmosphere 
Where  thou  didst  ever  move, 
Thou  music-winged  dove  j 
(The  anthems  of  the  sea  still  sound  exultingly.) 

And  ye  twin  brothers  rare 
Of  sacred  harmonies,  — 
Handel  with  all  thy  power 
Of  perfect  melody, 
Haydn  with  thy  deep  breath 
Of  Heaven  inspiring  song  : 
But  chiefly  thou  whose  tones 
Are  like  the  sea  of  soul 
Washing  against  the  shores 
Of  time,  thou,  Beethoven ; 
(The  anthems  of  the  sea  still  sound  exultingly.) 


And  ye  bright  stars  of  song, 
Baptized  and  bathed  in  light 
From  the  clear  atmosphere 


PRELUDE* 


19 


Of  Italy's  dark  night, 
Who  sung  with  cross  of  fire 
Suspended  to  each  breast, 
Yet  war  could  never  quench 
Your  melody's  unrest ; 
(The  anthems  of  the  sea  still  sound  exultingly.) 

Vain,  vain  the  instruments, 
And  all  the  songs  of  time, 
O  choirs  invisible,  — 
Orchestras  all  unseen  ; 
O,  harps  with  golden  strings, 
Hung  on  all  places  high ; 
O,  pipings  of  sweet  Pan ; 
Apollo's  charmed  lyre  \ 
O  mighty  minstrelsies, 
O  vocal  vibrations, 
O  voiceless  harmonies  ; 
Oratorios  grand  ; 
O  sacred  symphonies; 
(The  anthems  of  the  sea  still  sound  exultingly.) 

VI. 

No,  no,  not  all  in  vain  : 
One  perfect  form  of  art. 
Though  never  typified. 
Becomes  a  living  form, 
Which  through  eternity 
Endures  and  shall  not  fade. 
Those  high,  immortal  minds,  — 
Masters  of  harmony. 
Masters  of  poesy. 


HESPERIA. 


Masters  of  line  and  form, 

Masters  of  masonry,  — 

Each  clasp  their  hands  with  all, 

And  cUmb  the  threefold  height 

Of  that  art  pyramid 

That  reaches  up  to  heaven. 

They  touch  the  hand  of  Hira 

Who  reared  the  Royal  arch. 

And  placed  the  Corner-stone, 

And  carved  the  pillars  vast, 

And  painted  all  the  forms 

Of  life  with  coloring, 

And  fashioned  every  shape 

Of  beauty,  filling  all 

The  void  interstices 

Of  chaos  and  of  space 

With  the  rare  beauty  bright, 

With  grandeur  all  supreme  ; 

And  rounded  the  vast  dome. 

And  kindled  all  the  worlds, 

And  lighted  with  His  breath 

The  central  suns  of  space. 

Until  each  atom  grew 

Unto  a  perfect  form, 

And  every  sun  became 

A  portion  of  that  Light 

Which  is  the  Universe  ! 

So  every  thought  of  ours 

Unfolds  like  a  sweet  rose 

Blooming  eternally 

Upon  the  breast  of  God. 

So  every  perfect  thought 


PRELUDE. 


Enfolds  us  like  a  robe, 
Becomes  a  part  of  all 
That  we  ourselves  become, 
And  paves  the  starry  way 
To  our  eternal  home. 
Like  waterrlilies  white, 
Or  sacred  lotus  flowers, 
Uplifting  their  rare  forms 
From  low  and  dismal  pools. 
We  lift  our  brows  to  God 
From  the  low  marsh  of  time, 
And  the  dark  waves  of  life 
With  lilies  of  white  thoughts 
Are  crowned  and  glorified: 
And  every  sun  and  world. 
Responsive  to  our  life, 
Becomes  the  sweet  abode 
Of  our  immortal  souls. 
The  stars,  like  stepping-stones 
To  travellers'  weary  feet. 
Or  like  the  emerald  branch 
To  weary  white -winged  doves, 
Are  but  the  oases 
Of  the  soul  in  its  flight, 
While  each  augmented  life 
Brings  us  forever  near 
And  nearer  unto  God. 

VII. 

Nature  and  art  are  one. 
Even  as  truth  is  one,  . 
Even  as  light  is  one. 


HESPERIA. 


As  God  and  Christ  are  one, 
As  souls  are  one  with  God ; 
Art  breaks  for  us  the  sphere 
Within  which  lies  concealed 
Nature's  mysterious  charm. 
The  many  forms  of  thought, 
Religions,  faiths,  beliefs. 
Are  but  the  grains  of  sand 
Broken  from  truth's  great  rock; 
As  the  pure  light  of  heaven 
Is  broken  to  our  gaze 
Through  the  cathedral  dome. 
Or  through  the  sparkling  prism, 
Or  through  the  bended  bow, 
Presenting  many  hues, 
But  holding  only  one, — 
Vibration  of  pure  light. 
Seen  as  His  love  is  white. 
Matter  reveals  God's  form. 
As  truth  reveals  His  soul ;  - 
All  forms  are  Christs  indeed. 
All  truths  are  saviors  sweet ; 
We  are  but  smaller  spheres 
Of  which  God  is  the  whole. 
Perfection  owns  no  law, 
But  is  itself  all  law,  — 
The  cycle  of  that  sphere 
With  which  great  nature  rules  — 
Eternal  Infinite. 


PART  I. 


ASTR.E  A. 


ASTR^A. 
I. 


AWEARY  woman,  bending  'neath  the  weight 
Of  a  sweet  burden,  outcast  and  alone, 
With  robes  of  faded  splendor  closely  drawn 
Around  her  breast,  in  tender  protection 
Of  something  dearer  far  than  her  own  life. 
Wandered,  unsheltered,  through  the  pathless  wilds  ; 
Her  plenteous  hair  wound  like  a  silver  crown 
Around  a  lofty  brow,  whose  snow  was  traced 
With  pencilings  of  care  and  deepest  thought ; 
Her  face,  more  eloquent  than  blushing  youth, 
Lighted  with  liquid  fires  that  ever  gleamed 
From  the  rare  splendor  of  her  glorious  eyes. 
For  many  weary  leagues  she  journeyed  on 
Among  the  children  of  the  forest  wild. 
With  footsteps  free,  receiving  at  their  hands 
Such  kindness  as  their  humble  fare  could  give, 
Smiling  her  thankfulness  with  such  sweet  grace, 
They  thought  the  image  of  a  guest  divine 
Had  veiled  itself  in  her  fair  human  form, 
And  come  to  bless  them  with  some  precious  boon. 
They  called  her  by  the  names  which  spirits  have, 
And  when  she  left  them  sought  some  simple  gift,  — 


26 


HESPERIA. 


A  piece  of  her  torn  mantle,  or  a  lock 

Of  the  long  hair  that  crowned  her  regally. 

In  the  deep  wilderness,  far  from  the  sea 

And  all  its  deep-toned,  haunting  memories, 

Its  murmurings,  its  sobbing  of  unrest. 

On  the  mild  slope  of  a  high  mountain  range, 

Above  the  tempest  breeding  plain,  sheltered 

From  the  harsh  wdnds  by  brooding  forest  4:rees, 

She  chose  her  home  ]  wdthin  a  rocky  cave 

Open  to  the  warm  sunlight,  where  the  wails 

Seemed  fashioned  by  some  human  hand,  and  floors 

O'ergrown  with  softest  mosses  —  faded  leaves 

Of  flowing  ivy  and  wild  grapevine  clung 

To  the  gray  walls,  where  interlacing  arms 

Of  climbing  parasites  flung  out  their  starry  bloom 

Over  an  arch  of  wondrous  masonry  ; 

While  far  above  the  rocky  dome  was  cleft 

Into  a  pyramidal,  shaft-like  tow^er 

On  which  the  eagle's  eyrie  had  been  built 

For  many  years,  and  these  proud  birds  swept  down 

In  solemn  splendor  from  this  shining  height. 

Whether  some  upheaval  of  nature  reared 

This  tower  of  strength,  or  if  'twere  once  the  home 

Of  some  proud  monarch  of  this  Eden  land. 

She  did  not  care  to  know ;  it  welcomed  her 

And  sheltered  wdth  protecting  arms,  and  made 

A  couch  for  the  dear  babe  that  slumbered  still 

Upon  her  bosom,  whose  bewitching  smile 

Beguiled  her  w^eariness,  whose  dimpled  hands 

Wandered  caressingly  over  her  breast, 

While  rosy  pouting  lips  in  mimicry 

Dreamed  of  the  sweet  milk  they  so  late  had  drunk. 


ASTRMA, 


27 


For  food  she  gathered  the  wild  fruit  and  herbs 

Upon  the  mountain  side,  and  drank  the  cool 

And  liquid  waters  of  a  fountain  near. 

No  other  joys  were  hers,  and  none  she  craved, 

But  to  behold  her  lovely  babe  unfold 

Like  an  expanding  rose  or  budding  star, 

Into  a  beauteous  being.    Soon  they  knew 

Each  other's  meaning  by  the  smiles  that  played, 

Like  gleams  of  sunshine,  over  each  fair  face, 

Kindling  the  tender  light  within  their  eyes. 

The  forest  birds  soon  sought  their  company. 

And  built  their  nests  in  the  adjacent  boughs. 

To  rear  their  young  in  rivalry  most  sweet  j 

And  all  the  living  things  came  swiftly  near, — 

The  birds  and  beasts  of  prey  grew  wondrous  kind, 

The  monarchs  of  the  forest  soon  forgot 

Their  lairs,  and  whenever  wounded  they  came 

To  her  for  comfort,  and  she  ministered, 

And  tenderly  bound  up  their  wounds.    Soon  too 

The  serpents'  fangs  grew  powerless  ;  they  sought 

To  bask  in  the  warm  sunshine  near  her  door. 

Whatever  her  sad  history  had  been, 

Her  life  seemed  now  in  happiness  complete, 

With  its  full  richness  of  maternal  joy. 

Sometimes  the  smile  which  hovered  like  twilight 

Around  her  sweet  mouth  would  vanish  and  fade. 

The  pensive  drooping  of  her  fringed  lids 

Loosened  a  liquid  drop  from  her  bright  eyes ; 

But  deeper  still  within  her  heart  was  set 

The  beacon  light  of  Faith ;  upon  the  tower 

She  clomb  each  evening  when  the  sun  went  down, 

Striking  the  rude  rock  with  a  potent  power, 


28 


HESPERIA. 


Kindling  a  glory  there  which  filled  the  sky. 
Then,  in  the  sunset,  she  would  fold  her  arms 
Around  her  child,  drawing  her  ever  near 
And  nearer,  prattling  sweetest  words  the  while, 
And  pointing  to  the  splendor  of  the  flame  ; 
And  as  the  twilight  came  with  noiseless  wing, 
Her  voice  would  blend  with  vesper  song  of  birds, 
And  murmuring  of  winds  in  anthems  low. 
And  the  sweet  water-falls  adown  the  glen. 

SOXG  OF  ASTRiEA. 
I. 

Rest,  rest,  rest,  — 
All  things  s\veet  must  rest  ; 
See  the  happy  birdling's  slumber 
In  the  downy  nest ; 
Sweetest  birdie,  on  my  bosom 
Rest,  lullaby. 

II. 

Rest,  rest,  rest,  — 
All  things  fair  must  rest ; 
See  the  lily  bend  its  blossom 
Close  to  earth's  warm  breast ; 
Fairest  flower  of  my  bosom. 
Rest,  lullaby. 

-    '  III. 

Rest,  rest,  rest,  — 

Busy  things  must  rest ; 

See  the  bee  in  yonder  chalice 


ASTRMA, 


Drink  his  fill  of  rest ; 
Honey-bee,  upon  my  bosom 
Rest,  lullaby. 

IV. 

Rest,  rest,  rest,  — 
All  things  bright  must  rest  ; 
See  the  day  sink  down  in  splendor 
On  the  twilight's  breast; 
Brightest  day-beam,  on  my  bosom 
Rest,  lullaby. 

V.  . 

Rest,  rest,  rest,  — 
Love  can  never  rest. 
Eyes  of  angels  star-enkindled 
Ne'er  can  be  at  rest ; 
Star  immortal,  on  my  bosom 
Rest,  lullaby. 

II. 

As  is  an  atom  to  a  perfect  w^orld. 
As  folded  bud  to  a  full  blooming  flower, 
A  drop  of  shining  dew  to  the  vast  sea, 
An  egg  to  the  full-fledged  upsoaring  bird, 
A  leaf  to  the  vast  forest's  living  green, 
A  phosphorescent  gleam  to  a  bright  star. 
Morning's  first  beam  to  the  resplendent  day, 
A  page  to  a  full  volume  of  a  life, 
A  prelude  to  a  matchless  symphony, 
A  golden  string  to  the  full  instrument, 
One  voice  to  a  vast  choir  all  numberless. 


HESPERIA, 


A  breath  to  the  absorbing  atmosphere, 

An  undulation  to  the  mountain  wave, 

A  dim  world  to  a  central  potent  sun, 

A  thought  to  the  full  powers  of  the  mind, 

A  human  soul  to  an  archangel. 

An  archangel  unto  the  highest  God,  — 

Were  these  twain  ;  happy  mother,  happy 'child. 

Reared  'mid  enchantments  which  nature  alone 

Can  give,  companioned  by  a  love  as  true 

As  constant,  protecting,  and  kind  withal. 

As  is  God's  love  to  us  :  childhood  so  sweet, . 

So  unrestrained,  so  full  of  mirth  and  song. 

That  she  became  a  bodied  joy,  a  rare 

And  bright  reflection  of  God  incarnate 

With  love:  a  spirit  essence  most  divine 

Pervaded  all  her  form,  exhaling  warmth 

Bright  as  a  dream  of  morning,  or  a  star 

From  brightest  constellation  in  the  sky  ;  — 

A  personated  thought  of  love,  a  bud 

Of  paradise  blooming  awhile  on  earth. 

Blessed  childhood  and  blest  motherhood  ; 

O,  for  a  burning  pen  dipped  in  the  fire 

Of  her  pure  heart,  to  trace  its  joy  supreme  ! 

O,  for  a  lyre  caught  from  the  sainted  hand 

Of  the  great  Mother  of  all  Truth,  whose  strain 

Might  equal  the  wild  throbbings  of  her  soul !  — 

But  motherhood  amid  the  pangs  of  woe. 

Of  painful  penury  and  bitter  toil. 

Where  antenatal  hatred  breeds  disease. 

And  saddened  labor  like  a  heavy  yoke 

Grinds  out  the  life  from  its  poor  victim's  heart,  - 

The  feeble  babe  is  ushered  into  life 


ASTRMA, 


31 


The  accident  of  passion,  not  the  fruit 

Of  natural  love,  whose  blossoms  ever  yield 

The  bounty  of  spontaneous  parentage;  — 

Or  motherhood  amid  the  heartless  scenes 

Of  gayety,  where  greedy  Fashion  holds 

Her  votaries  in  vilest  servitude  ; 

Where  midnight  revelry  and  dance  and  wine, 

And  trailing  weight  of  robes  oppress  the  form, 

Dim  the  bright  lustre  of  the  lovely  eye. 

Consume  the  roses'  bloom,  make  paler  still 

The  lily  white  upon  the  neck  and  brow, 

And  stint  the  growth  of  the  young  germ  which  lies 

Close  to  the  heart  and  shares  its  tumult  wild, 

Or,  still  more  horrible,  abortive  casts 

The  young  life  from  the  womb,  before  a  soul 

Can  fold  itself  within  such  prison  cell ; 

More  bitter  still,  that  motherhood  that  comes 

In  the  unhallowed  bonds  of  legal  hate. 

When  woman,  like  a  slave,  must  yield  her  form 

To  the  defilement  of  a  sanctioned  lust, 

But  may  not  lift  her  voice  against  the  wrong 

Which  outrages  her  first,  her  holiest  right,  — 

To  keep  the  altar  of  her  body  pure. 

That  her  offspring  may  wear  the  sacred  thought 

Which  she  would  clothe  them  with  like  snowy  robes : 

But  O,  the  secret  bliss  of  that  rare  boon 

When  perfect  love  and  perfect  union  blend 

Two  mutual  lives  to  one  purpose  of  bliss. 

And  by  the  right  of  her  maternity 

The  married  woman  veils  herself  with  love. 

Like  Isis,  folded  in  the  heart  of  earth. 

Bears  her  sweet  burden  joyously  and  free. 


2 


HE  S PERI  A. 


One  twilio-ht  cold  and  2:i'av  she  souo-ht  her  tower, 
The  e}Tie  of  her  hopes  and  prophecies, 
Where  she  had  watched  the  eaglets  \x\  their  wing 
And  seen  the  mother-bird  dive  quick  beneath 
To  catch  them  on  her  pinions  should  they  fall. 
So  doth  the  Infinite  witli  us,*'  thought  she 
Pushing  us  forth  from  His  eternal  nest 
That  we  may  learn  to  fly  alone,  His  love 
Meanwhile  extending  far  beneath 
To  save  us  if  we  fall.''    Her  heart  was  sad, 
Her  faith  and  courage  failed  not,  but  a  sense 
Of  hunger  pierced  her  spirit  through  and  through 
She  famished  not  for  food,  a  longing  wild, 
Intense,  and  deep,  per\'aded  her ;  she  felt 
That  she  must  perish  if  there  came  no  change. 
Far  down  the  giddy,  trembling  height  she  gazed, 
O'er  inter\-ening  forests  bare  and  gray. 
And  the  brown  bosom  of  the  patient  earth. 
Upon  the  plain  she  saw-  the  faintest  speck 
Of  white,  speeding,  like  a  swifi  thought  of  death 
Or  swifter  messenger  of  love.    Her  face 
Suddenly  grew  as  pallid  as  the  snow. 
Her  eyes  dilated,  and  her  bosom  heaved 
With  quick  forebodings,  or  with  ecstasy  : 
Up,  up  she  piled  the  fagots,  till  the  flame 
Mounted  to  heaven,  kindling  all  the  fires 
In  the  encampment  of  the  starn.-  spheres  : 
Then,  clasping  her  sweet  daughter  to  her  breast, 
She  passed  an  interval  of  hours  that  seemed 
Each  one  an  age  of  painful  expectance  ; 
Then  a  swift  clattering  of  horse's  hoofs, 
And  crackling  branches  rang  out  on  the  air. 


ASTR^A,  33 

As  though  the  rider  would 'outstrip  the  winds. 

Another  instant  and  the  foaming  steed 

Stood  panting  near  her  door;  a  form  was  flung 

Close  to  her  own,  and  in  another  breath 

Mother  and  child  were  clasped  in  an  embrace 

That  reunited  love  alone  can  know, — 

So  close,  so  long,  the  young  child  frightened  grew. 

And  cried  aloud  with  pain  ;  but  when  she  saw 

The  eyes  that  beamed  on  her,  and  heard  the  tones 

Of  deepest  melody  in  that  strange  voice. 

She  came  again  and  nestled  near  his  heart 

As  though  its  shelter  were  her  chosen  home. 

One  could  well  guess  that  these  were  wedded  souls, 

Alike  in  spirit,  opposite  in  form, 

The  contrast  of  their  beauty  making  each 

Appear  more  lovely ;  everlasting  youth 

Seemed  to  have  bathed  them  in  its  living  fount, 

And  none  could  trace  on  either  countenance 

A  touch  of  time  ;  yet  there  were  lines  of  care 

Softened  and  rendered  beauteous  by  their  love. 

Long  sat  they  in  deep  silence,  too  intense 

Their  mutual  joy  for  speech  ;  the  heart  might  break 

With  utterance  of  rapture  so  divine. 

At  last  the  sweet  assurance  of  their  eyes 

Calmed  the  high  waves  of  joy  that  o'er  them  rolFd 

And  found  relief  in  words,  which,  like  white  spray 

Upon  the  shining  shore,  broke  from  their  lips. 


3 


34 


HESPERIA, 


III. 

EROTION. 

Found,  found  at'  last,  my  beautiful,  my  own. 

How  have  I  sought  thee  through  this  trance,  of  years, 

Never  a  moment  pausing  in  my  search : 

The  old  world  haunts,  and  palaces  so  dim, 

Grown  gray  and  grim  in  misery  and  woe, 

I  travelled ;  prison  walls  I  scaled  to  clasp' 

Thy  lovely  form,  and  searched  the  dungeon  cells 

To  find  the  place  where  they  had  pinioned  thee  ; 

Within  our  first  fair  home  I  looked  in  vain, 

Grim  ruin,  mocking,  sat  beside  the  door  ; 

Then  toward  the  sea  I  sped,  a  gleaming  hope 

Alluring,  beckoning  me  ever  on  ; 

For  I  was  told  by  seamen,  on  the  shore. 

That  one  like  thee,  wearing  thy  sacred  form, 

Had  crossed  the  waters  in  a  strange,  wild  way 

So  like  thyself.    This  tale  inspired  my  soul,  . 

And  I  resolved  to  follow,  though  indeed 

It  might  be  but  an  ignis-fatuus^  — 

It  was  so  sweet  to  think  thou  couldst  not  die. 

My  dearest  love,  how  hast  thou  passed  the  while  ? 

And  our  sweet  babe^  I  yearned  to  clasp  her  form 

And  thine  close  to  this  breast,  to  see  her  face 

And  feel  her  beauty  as  it  beams  e'en  now 

Upon  my  spirit.    Tell  me  how  thou  didst  escape 

To  this  Elysium  ;  how  thou  found'st  a  home 

So  wild  and  beautiful  ?  I  saw  thy  light 

Far  out  upon  the  plain  ;  I  knew  'twas  thine. 

And  it  became  my  guiding-star  to  thee. 


ASTR^A. 


35 


ASTRiEA. 

I  knew  that  thou  wouldst  come,  my  dearest  love; 
The  deep,  prophetic  voice  within  my  soul 
Forever  brought  that  sweet  assurance  there. 
On  that  wild  day  of  fearful  strife  and  blood, 
When  we  were  dragged  forth  in  chains  to  die, 
And  our  names  branded  'mid  derisive  sneers, 
I  saw  thee  borne  away  by  slaves  in  arms,  — 
I  thought  to  dungeon,  then  perchance  to  death. 
E'en  now  how  pale  thou  art ;  how  long  wert  thou 
In  chains  —  how  fly  from  death  so  imminent? 

EROTION. 

I'll  tell  thee  soon,  but  thine  own  story  first. 

ASTR^A. 

The  one  appointed  to  fulfill  my  death 

Seemed  sudden  struck  with  a  swift  tenderness. 

Compassionately  murmuring  my  name 

In  low  pitying  voice,  I  turned  and  saw 

He  was  a  friend,  who  in  profound  disguise 

Had  masked  himself  to  mingle  with  our  foes 

And  aid  us  in  our  hour  of  direst  need. 

At  first  the  crowd  with  fiendish  shout  and  yell 

Followed.    I  thought  he  soon  would  be  compelled 

To  yield  me  to  their  rage.    At  last  they  turned 

Pursuing  thee,  and  then  he  caught  me  up 

And  bore  me  to  a  place  outside  the  gates 

Of  the  sad  city ;  when  the  night  came  on 

Again  returned;  he  could  not  long  remain, 

But  told  the  mob  that  I  was  dead,  and  brought 


36 


HESPERIA. 


A  form  resembling  mine  to  prove  'twas  true, — 

Some  poor  unfortunate,  wearing  a  look 

Something  like  mine,  pursued  and  slain  for  me. 

At  night  we  journeyed  to  the  distant  shore  \ 

The  sentinels  all  drunken,  stupefied, 

Were  sleeping,  and  we  passed  unseen. 

He  found  a  small  forsaken  boat  adrift 

Upon  the  waters,  this  I  quickly  launched. 

Embarking  all  alone  and  leaving  thee. 

But  ah !  what  could  I  do  ?    I  bore  her  form 

Close  to  my  heart  and  must  for  her  sake  come, 

While  something  whispered,  thou  wouldst  follov/  me. 

A  band  of  exiles,  far  out  on  the  sea. 

Beheld  and  recognized  me  as  their  friend,  — 

Took  me  on  board.    After  a  voyage  strange 

And  filled  with  wild  adventures,  this  bright  shore 

Greeted  our  vision ;  they  landed  me  at  night. 

And  I  alone  sought  out  this  high  retreat 

To  kindle  my  watch-fires  and  wait  for  thee  \ 

But  ere  I  parted  from  my  loving  friends 

I  made  a  solemn  promise,  if  there  came 

A  time  when  we  could  aid  them,  were  you  here, 

We  would  respond.    Now,  how  didst  thou  escape? 

EROTION. 

My  bravest,  truest  love,  what  hast  thou  borne 

And  suffered  for  my  sake  !    I  love  thee  more 

Than  thought  of  Heaven  or  all  holy  things. 

Save  truth,  and  thou  art  Truth.   They  thought  me  dead, 

And  left  me  swinging  on  a  scaffold  high. 

When  one  in  reckless  mood  cut  down  the  cords : 

I  feigned  death,  and  waited  till  he  passed  ; 


ASTRAIA, 


37 


Then  loosening  the  chain  about  my  neck, 

I  fled,  but  soon  fell  wearied  to  the  ground. 

A  mounted  guard  approached  to  pierce  my  breast 

With  his  rude  sword ;  I  sprang  upon  his  horse. 

And  with  one  hand  secured  the  lifted  blade. 

And  with  the  other  hurled  him  from  his  seat. 

Meanwhile  the  bells  were  ringing  joyously. 

And  shouts  and  loud  huzzas  proclaimed  abroad 

The  triumph  of  our  foes.    Then  I  sought  thee 

In  such  disguise  as  I  could  well  assume 

From  the  poor  slave,  whose  body  I  had  slain. 

Among  our  foes  I  passed  unrecognized, 

Jlearing  them  say,  with  loud  joyous  acclaim. 

That  thou  wert  dead,  —  calling  thee  by  such  names 

As  made  my  forehead  burn  with  vengeful  fire 

And  my  hand  clutch  the  rapier  I  held. 

But  faith  and  hope  that  thou  too  wert  alive 

Caused  prudence  to  keep  watchful  guard  o'er  me. 

Then,  as  I  said  before,  some  fishermen, 

Who  saw  thee  trust  thyself  out  on  the  sea 

In  that  frail  boat,  described  to  me  thy  form. 

And  fashioned  superstitious  tales  of  thee. 

Believing  thee  a  spirit,  no  man  dared 

Pass  o'er  the  waves  where  they  had  seen  thee  go  ; 

But  in  my  inmosf  heart  I  knew  'twas  thee. 

The  perils  of  our  voyage  I  will  pass,  — 

Shipwrecked  and  famished  and  by  storms  delayed, 

I  never  let  despair  brood  o'er  my  soul. 

No  sooner  had  my  feet  touched  this  fair  shore 

Than  I  heard  thy  sweet  name  breathed  all  around; 

Thy  sad  experience  had  won  their  hearts, 

And  they  were  seeking  to  devise  some  plan 


HESPERIA, 


To  find  out  thy  abode.    AVith  readiness 
WTiich  love  forever  lends,  I  strove  to  find 
And  bring  thee  thence  ;  but  still  I  knew  thy  foes 
Pursued  thee,  for  the  ship  in  which  I  sailed 
Was  manned  by  a  dark  crew  sent  in  pursuit 
Of  thy  frail  bark  across  the  waters  wild. 

ASTRiEA. 

When  our  sweet  babe  was  born,  the  foresters 
Gave  me  such  rest  and  comfort  as  their  lives 
Aiford.    I  was  as  one  of  their  own  kin  ; 
And  when  I  left  they  fain  would  have  me  stay, 
The  men  were  silent  and  the  women  wept. 
I  said  my  spirit  would  companion  them. 
And  they  might  know  that  I  would  ever  be 
Their  friend  and  sister.  Is  she  not  most  fair, 
Our  lovely  child  ?   I  think  she  has  thy  eyes 
And  hair,  and  lips  all  pouting  to  be  kissed. 
Something  about  her  forehead  is  like  mine, 
And  then  her  form,  I  fancy,  like  my  own. 
But  if  lily  e'er  held  a  drop  of  dew 
As  pure  as  heaven  in  its  golden  cup. 
Her  form  enfolds  a  spirit  glowing  white  j 
Her  body  seems  the  outgrowth  of  her  soul. 
O,  I  have  had  such  visions  oflier  life 
As  fond  aspiring  love  can  only  paint 
When  urged  by  hope  for  all  the  weary  world. 

EROTION. 

I  find  her  more  than  my  imaginings 
Dared  prophesy:  a  jewel  set  within 
Our  coronet  of  life,  to  prove  how  fair 


ASTRMA. 


39 


And  pure  a  blossom  perfect  love  can  give. 
With  all  our  sorrows,  I  would  rather  hold 
Thee  and  our  darling  thus  than  wear  a  crown 
With  all  the  world  as  empire  ;  —  but  these  dreams 
Which  thy  fond  heart  has  planned :  methinks  a  tone 
Of  prophesy  pervades  thy  voice. 

ASTRiEA. 

Ah,  yes, — 

Through  the  dim  vista  of  the  opening  years, 

I  have  been  striving  with  my  spirit  eyes 

To  pierce  the  darkness  'that  o'erhangs  the  world, 

And  broods  like  fate  above  our  eastern  home. 

A  destiny  stronger  than  our  own  will 

Has  brought  us  hither ;  a  new  dawn  of  life 

Is  ours ;  this  fair  wild  land  where  our  loved  child 

Was  born,  may  yet  become  the  guiding  light 

Of  all  the  world,  and  with  it  linked  her  fate. 

I  know  her  born  to  fill  no  common  sphere  ; 

And  the  high  hope  uplifts  my  saddened  heart, 

Until  it  trembles  with  the  golden  thrill 

Of  a  proud  promise,  that  she  like  a  queen 

Of  mercy,  not  of  might,  shall  pass  along. 

Followed  by  all  the  weary,  longing  ones 

Who  languish  for  this  heaven-promised  bourn. 

And  shall  she  not  unlock  the  negro's  chains. 

Break  all  the  old  world's  galling  bonds,  and  set 

The  captive  nations  free?    A  star  has  risen 

Above  her  cradle  ;  a  new  Bethlehem 

Is  here ;  and  though  the  wise  men  of  the  East 

Behold  it  not,  one  glorious  in  youth. 

And  full  of  hope  and  aspiration,  saw 


» 


40 


HESPERIA. 


Its  rays,  and  clave  the  unresisting  seas 

To  find  the  glad  fulfillment  of  his  dreams. 

Another  saw  in  its  charmed  life,  the  Isles 

Of  Eldorado,  or  the  paradise 

Of  the  proud  Eastern  world^  —  its  light  was  hers. 

O.  I  have  taught  her  all  her  years  would  bear, 

And  watched  v/ith  rapture  the  fair  germs  of  truth 

Spring  up  within  her  spirit.    Well  I  know 

To  whom  more  than  all  others  she  will  be 

A  blessing  and  a  guiding  star  of  love.  • 

Woman  —  who,  held  as  any  chattel  slave 

By  other  slaves,  the  monarchs  of  the  world, 

Whose  simple  duty  is  to  please  their  sense, 

Or  while  away  an  idle  hour  at  best ; 

Or  who,  in  Europe,  sits  upon  a  throne 

Of  social  power  and  plays  the  mocking-bird 

For  some  fool's  pleasure,  lending  her  rare  powers 

To  idle  mimicry  and  glittering  show. 

Woman  —  who  sits  with  motionless  white  lips, 

But  dares  not  sing  the  song  that  rises  there ; 

Though  genius-kindled  and  eloquent. 

She  crowds  it  back  to  break  upon  her  heart. 

Woman,  who,  loveless  and  unloved,  becomes 

The  sneer  and  jest  of  ever}*  idler's  tongue, 

Because,  perchance,  she  dares  to  walk  alone 

The  narrow  paths  of  life,  rather  than  bear 

The  loathsome  bonds  of  an  unholy  tie 

Which  her  soul  cannot  sanction ;  for  a  dream 

Has  ever  burned  within  her  heart,  —  a  pure 

A  loft}'  bright  ideal, —  and  its  flame 

Makes  there  a  vestal  altar  unto  God. 

Woman  who,  at  the  worst,  goes  madly  forth 


ASTRMA. 


From  some  harsh  parent's  roof,  like  a  blind  moth 

Allured  by  the  false  glare  of  pleasure's  flame, 

Or  falser  promises  of  a  dark  soul ; 

But  who  within  her  heart  loathes  things  impure, 

And  only  seeks  for  love  and  sympathy; 

Woman,  who,  at  the  best,  must  watch  and  pray, 

Keeping  the  vestal  fires  forever  bright. 

In  battlemented  tower  and  guarded  wall. 

Lest  some  rude  breath  of  calumny  and  scorn 

Shall  mar  the  altar's  spotless  purity,  — 

But  who,  if  some  bright  being  sudden  came. 

Endowed  with  Heaven-inspired  eloquence 

To  break  the  chains  and  gyves  that  bind  her  thus 

Open  the  gates  of  cruel  circumstance 

To  the  bright  angel  opportunity. 

Would  uplift  heart  and  hands  in  purest  joy 

And  thankfulness,  and  trusting,  follow  her 

To  those  pure  heights  only  attained  by  those 

Who  choose  the  martyrs'  glorious  fiery  doom. 

Rather  than  bear  the  galling,  gilded  chains 

Which  unrequited  love  and  labor  forge 

To  bind  in  fetters  the  fair  queens  of  earth. 

EROTION. 

Most  worthy  of  a  noble  soul  this  splendid  dream. 

Many  harsh  parent  plays  the  petty  king 

Over  the  household  empire  ;  but  he  rules 

With  an  uncertain  sceptre,  for  the  soul 

Of  such  an  one  is  childless,  and  he  goes 

Into  the  world  of  spirits  all  alon^. 

Mothers  who  rule  through  fear,  and  bare  the  form 

Of  the  pale  shrinking  child  to  chastisement. 


HE  S PERI  A. 


Or  sting  with  taunting  words  and  bitter  sneers, 
Have  no  relationship  to  motherhood, 
Nor  know  the  ecstasy  of  that  full  joy 
Which  crowns  a  soul  made  perfect  by  a  love 
Complete  as  nature's  marriage  unto  God. 
O,  many  patient,  gentle,  loving  souls, 
Chaste  as  Diana,  and  like  her  as  pale. 
Walking  alone  with  their  own  secret  grief, 
Or  pressing  back  the  sigh  for  nature's  ties, 
Will  find,  on  wakening  from  life's  weary,  trance, 
Their  souls  companioned  by  each  counterpart, 
And  winged  cherubs,  each  a  living  form 
Of  their  own  lives  of  spotless  purity,  — 
Like  day-dreams  from  the  unmaternal  nest 
Taking  their  flight,  and  hiding  in  the  folds 
Of  fleecy  thought,  the  spirit's  atmosphere  ; 
For  all  the  w^eary  waiting,  better  far 
Go  childless  and  unloved  below,  than  wear 
The  yoke  of  ah  unequal  union,  or  to  beSTr 
The  forms  that  hold  no  image  of  your  soul. 
But  O,  the  rapture,  the  divine  delight,  ' 
Of  wearing  consciously  the  perfect  crown 
Of  parentage,  of  being  truly  wed. 
And  from  that  union  rear  the  tender  buds 
Which  shall  unfold  to  blossom  and  yield  fruit 
Of  God,  —  the  thought  of  perfect  souls  : 
Such  have  the  saviors  and  the  martyrs  been, 
And  rarest  poets :  every  genius 
Who  gives  unto  his  age  a  thought  complete, 
Hath  been  the  offspring  of  marriage  as  pure 
As  that  which  gave  a  Jesus  to  the  world. 
Death  and  a  love  like  this  alone  reveal 


ASTR^A. 

Unto  the  soul  its  spirit  counterpart. 
These  are  the  master-passions,  arrows  keen 
Which  probe  the  sphere  of  Hfe,  revealing  God. 
Souls  are  star-born,  a  perfect  sphere  of  light 
And  beauty,  which  matter  but  cleaves  in  twain, 
The  globe  of  living,  perfect  loveliness. 
Becomes  as  the  divided  moon,  as  pale 
And  wan  with  many  weary  wanderings. 
Millions  thus  struggle  through  the  stagnant  years 
Of  time  and  earth  companionless  j 
But  those  high  souls,  the  saviors  of  mankind. 
Are  twin-born,  and  their  perfect  lives  become 
.The  full  expression  of  Heaven^s  harmonies. 
Yet  you  remember,  sweet,  that  such  high  thoughts 
And  ministrations  bring  no  recompense 
Of  the  world's  fame.    If  this  indeed  shall  be 
The  destiny  of  our  most  lovely  child, 
We  will  uplift  her  hands,  and  Heaven-endowed, 
She  shall  -walk  forth  protected  by  our  love  ; 
Our  hearts  shall  bear  her  spirit  ever  up 
Above  all  storms.    How  well  we  know  the  fate 
Of  those  who  love  the  Truth  and  seek  to  build 
Upon  the  earth  her  dwelling,  scorned,  reviled. 
Calumniated,  and  perchance  betrayed, 
As  Truth  so  oft  hath  been ;  but  she  shall  live 
And  triumph  over  all  our  foes. 
But  see,  already  doth  the  eye  of  day 
Light  with  its  love  the  ever-longing  earth. 
Kindling  his  fires  upon  the  eastern  hills, 
A  beacon  to  the  world,  as  was  thy  light 
To  my  night  wandering  spirit.    Let  us  rest. 


PART  11. 
FRATERNIA. 


LUC  RETT  A  MOTT, 


THE  MOTHER  OF   REFORM;  THE  FRIEND  OF  THE  SLAVE; 
AND  TYPE  OF  TRUE  WOMANHOOD. 


FRATERNIA. 
1. 

A CITY  in  the  wilderness,  a  calm 
Sequestered  spot,  shut  from  the  ocean  wild 
By  a  mild  interlude  of  land  and  sea. 
Where  two  rivers,  whose  sources  rise  afar 
Amid  the  hills,  and  who  with  swiftest  feet 
Hasten  like  lovers  in  response  to  fate, 
To  blend  their  lives  in  one.    Another  stream, 
Not  far  away,  its  sullen  courses  wind 
In  sombre  silence  through  o'erhanging  banks 
And  shading  forests,  —  like  a  suitor  spurned 
But  bade  unto  the  marriage-feast  full  late,  — 
Merges  at  last  its  waters  with  their  own, 
Preferring  thus  to  yield  its  loneliness 
That  they  may  be  more  happy.    Nature  seemed 
To  form  this  favored  spot  for  special  use, 
And  one,  obedient  to  her  behests. 
Planned  with  prophetic  vision  and  the  soul 
Of  progress,  a  vast  peopled  city :  streets 
Narrow  and  close,  long  rows  of  houses  neat ; 
Trees  which  the  ready  hand  of  ravishment 
Had  torn  away,  replanted  to  give  shade 
To  streets  whose  parallels  and  angles  fine 
Were  exact  lines  of  strictest  measurement ; 
While  old-time  roads  swept  in  protestingly. 


48 


HESPERIA. 


With  many  a  curve  and  diagonal  line, 

To  prove  the  constant  warfare  'twixt  the  town 

And  nature,  destined  too  swiftly  to  pass 

Beneath  the  encroaching  wheels  of  time  away. 

A  building  suited  to  those  simple  times, 

Unconscious  of  a  touch  of  art  or  grace, 

An  edifice  of  walls  with  little  else 

To  mark  its  presence,  save  a  cupola 

Or  dome,  wherein  was  placed  a  brazen  bell 

To  sound  alarms  of  fire  or  dreadful  war. 

Or  ring  an  anthem  which  might  shake  the  world. 

Thither,  from  her  retreat  among  the  hills, 

And  from  her  music-haunted  ivy  bowers, 

And  battlements  of  sun-besplendored  clouds. 

From  flying  birds  and  swifter  flying  winds. 

From  summer  haunts,  where  the  wild  honey-bee 

Reveled  in  sweets  like  nectar  for  their  lips, 

And  from  the  hearts  of  nature's  children  |ree, 

The  recompense  and  respite  from  all  care, 

(Save  the  protecting  compensating  love 

She  bare  her  daughter  and  her  counterpart,) 

From  all  that  could  allure  her  to  forget 

The  terror  of  her  life,  —  came  Astraea. 

Not  in  a  chariot  inlaid  with  gems 
And  drawn  by  snowy  steeds  caparisoned 
In  richest  splendor,  —  slaves  in  livery 
Attendant  on  their  slightest  wish  or  breath, — 
Not  with  triumphal  arch  and  banners  gay, 
Nor  wild  acclaim  of  populace,  nor  wreaths 
Of  festive  flowers,  nor  retinue  of  proud 
And  mounted  cavaliers,  the  loved  ones  came, 


FRATERNIA, 


49 


But  with  the  ringing  of  a  single  bell, 
Whose  solemn  strokes  fell  on  the  startled  air 
As  thunderbolts  fall  when  the  pent  up  clouds 
Pour  forth  their  torrents  'mid  the  lightning's  flame. 
Swiftly  at  night,  companioned  by  their  child,  — 
So  beautiful  they  dreaded  lest  the  stars 
Should  envy  the  rare  brightness  of  her  eyes 
And  snatch  her  to  thek  high  serene  abodes,  — 
They  came  all  unattended,  unannounced  ; 
Appeared  within  the  council  chamber,  sat 
Upon  the  eminence  prepared  for  them. 
Within  an  alcove,  and  apart  from  all. 
Listened,  with  brows  as  calm  and  high  as  heaven, 
To  all  the  earnest  anxious  words  there  spoke,  — 
Words  of  the  patriots,  whose  noble  souls 
Had  risen  in  revolt  against  their  wrongs. 
One  young  and  brave  appealed  to  strength  of  arms, 
And  one  with  mind  as  clear  as  thought  of  truth 
Spoke  in  defense  of  manhood  and  their  right 
To  the  best  laws  ;  and  one  with  calm  sweet  eye 
Approved  their  utterance  with  firm  mild  voice ; 
And  one  whose  forehead  seemed  to  touch  the  sky 
Spoke  words  of  wisdom  consecrate  to  God. 
But  chiefly  for  their  cherished  guests  they  spake. 
Uniting  all  their  voices  in  a  pledge. 
Which  through  all  time  shall  be  proclaimed  the  best, 
The  highest  oflering  to  Liberty. 
Would  that  among  them  there  had  been  a  mind 
Like  the  divine  Lycurgus,  full  of  might, 
To  make  that  utterance  forever  bind 
The  nation  by  a  sacrifice  as  grand. 
They  thus  addressed  their  loved  and  honored  guests : 
4 


II ES PERI  A. 


'  Lady,  your  sorrows  and  your  loveliness, 
The  story  of  your  wrongs,  your  presence  here, 
The  love  we  bear  you  and  the  sacred  right 
We  have,  in  common  with  all  human  kind, 
To  worship  at  the  shrine  of  truth  and  love, 
The  need  we  have  of  your  blest  counsel  here, 
Would  fain  inspire  us,  in  our  love  for  these,  , 
To  crown  you  as  our  queen ;  but  something  here 
Within  our  hearts,  forbids  us  to  make  thrones 
Or  worship  idols,  and  our  manhood  holds 
That  all  are  equal  in  the  sight  of  God. 
We  worship  only  Him  ;  those  attributes 
Which  constitute  His  being,  we  behold 
Embodied  in  your  form,  and  these  you  love  ; 
Therefore  accept  as  one  eternal  link 
In  the  great  chain  that  binds  us  all  to  God 
Such  homage  as  our  grateful  hearts  can  give 
To  the  rare  beaut\'  of  your  form  and  soul, 
The  spotless  purity  of  your  true  heart, 
The  noble  love  you  offer  unto  us, 
The  threefold  blessing  which  your  presence  brings  \ 
Not  as  a  queen,  but  as  a  woman  dear, 
Our  mother  and  our  friend,  abide  with  us. 
And  thou,  most  noble  consort,  unto  whom 
We  owe  a  double  debt  of  gratitude. 
For  your  own  presence  and  your  guiding  hand 
To  lead  to  us  the  being  we  have  sought 
And  loved  so  long,  who  masked  her  lovely  form 
From  our  fond  sight  with  nature's  Isis  veil. 
Be  you  the  twain  whose  single  purpose  binds. 
Like  those  twin  stars  whose  beams  distance  makes  one 
Pure  ray  of  undivided  guiding  light, 


FRATERNIA, 


Holding  us  evermore  to  God  and  Heaven. 

And  for  this  lovely  being,  this  rare  child, 

We  have  no  language  to  express  our  joy, 

Our  admiration,  and  our  fondest  love. 

Her  presence  here  is  as  a  vision  bright, 

Seen  in  a  lofty  trance  by  one  inspired; 

She  holds  her  beauty  like  a  bud,  whose  leaves 

Give  promise  of  surpassing  loveliness. 

A  drop  of  dew  trembling  within  the  cup 

Of  the  white  lily  is  less  bright  than  she ; 

More  like  a  star  dropped  from  Urania's  crown, 

Startling  the  world  with  its  diviner  flame. 

We  pray  that  the  fond  hope  which  will  arise, 

That  she  and  you  shall  ever  be  our  own, 

To  bind  our  souls  and  yours  in  strongest  ties, 

May  be  fulfilled.    Already  she  becomes 

Our  daughter,  sister,  and  our  angel  guide. 

Uplifting  our  sad  hearts  from  the  cold  cares 

And  groveling  wishes  of  this  sordid  world. 

We  pledge  "to  you  our  hearts,  our  lives,  our  hands 

First  for  your  own  dear  selves,  and  next  for  those 

Who  shall  come  after  us,  inheriting 

Such  curses  or  such  blessings  as  we  build; 

And  lastly  for  ourselves,  because  we  owe 

That  tribute  to  our  manhood  and  to  God 

Whose  potent  power  has  given  life  and  mind." 

11. 

The  trumpet  sound  of  war,  the  dread  alarms 
Of  battles,  sights  and  sounds  of  human  woe, 
The  scent  of  blood  upon  the  air,  its  stain 
On  earth's  bosom,  the  Eternal  Hunger, 


52 


HESPERIA. 


Death,  gnawing  at  life's  door,  corruption's  breath 
Breeding  contagion  on  the  stifling  air, 
Famine  M^ith  her  wild  eyes  and  ashen  face, 
The  spectres  grim  of  dim  and  haunting  fears, 
All  sights  and  sounds  congealing  the  v;arm  blood, 
Startled  the  loving  rv»'ain,  renewed  the  dread 
Lest  they  again  should  be  basely  betrayed 
And  their  child  murdered  by  the  wanton  hands 
That  sought  their  Hves.    'Tis  true  the  patriots 
Were  brave  and  strong,  but  stronger  5:-e:::nes  seemed 
Their  foes,  for  t}Tanny  wears  a  bo^d  from 
Till  vanquished  :  then  the  coward  shrinks  away, 
Like  some  foul  serpent  robbed  of  its  dread  sring. 
Once  when  the  war  waged  fiercest  mid  the  snows 
Of  wildest  winter,  Hope  grew  pale  and  dim, 
And  Famine,  mocking,  threatened  the  small  band 
With  terrors  worse  than  death  by  any  foe. 
The  soldiers  sickened,  their  brave  leader  saw 
Them  faint  and  falter  by  the  wear}'  way ; 
The  stern  necessities  of  their  hard  fate 
Pressed  down  upon  him  like  a  leaden  load. 
It  was  a  day  when  they  must  win  or  die  ; 
Their  foes  were  full  of  life  and  strong  vrirh  food, 
Surely  there  must  come  succor  or  they  fail : 
They  rallied,  but  the  first  fire  scattered  them 
Like  trees  before  the  giant  tempest's  breath  ; 
It  seemed  their  cause  must  perish:  losing  this 
They  lost  the  dear  lives  of  the  sacred  ones 
Who  though  inseparable,  aided  them 
In  ever}'  hour  of  peril ;  in  each  fight 
They  seemed  an  omnipresence,  everywhere 
Encouraged,  rallied,  even  led  them  on  ; 


FRATERNIA. 


53 


And  in  the  camp  they  hovered  o'er  the  couch 
Of  sick  and  dying ;  from  their  homes  allured 
The  noble  women  to  attend  on  those 
Who  sacrificed  their  lives  that  they  might  live. 
O,  those  were  hours  which  quickened  every  thought 
Of  goodness,  and  awakened  all  the  strength 
Within  the  gentle  bosom  of  the  fair. 
What  she  did  they  could  do ;  inspired  by  her 
They  each  became  her  own,  and  all  her  grace 
Hovered  around  them  and  became  as  theirs. 
Even  now  they  came  again  to  fill  the  breach, 
Seizing  the  standard  from  a  dying  hand. 
And  foremost  rode  beside  the  leader  brave. 
Victory  smiled  upon  him,  bound  his  brow 
With  laurel  wreaths^  and  in  their  loud  acclaim 
The  people  sought  to  crown  him  as  their  king ; 
Forgetting  for  the  moment  their  dear  pledge  : 
"Have  we  not  respite  sought  from  tyranny 
Of  kings  and  thrones,  and  shall  I  forge  the  chain 
Which  these  loved  beings  by  my  side  have  riven 
From  our  own  helpless  hands  ?  "  he  said.     Ye  rave 
If  ye  would  other  rulers  own  save  those 
Who  have  given  us  all,  and  in  return 
Ask  nothing  but  our  love !  "    Then  with  huzzas 
They  pledged  themselves  anew  to  liberty, 
And  plighted  all  their  worship  unto  Heaven. 
The  day  of  triumph  o'er  them  fully  dawned, 
Its  brightening  promise  tinting  all  the  sky 
With  a  purpureal  splendor  divine ; 
Peace  brooded,  white-winged,  o'er  the  mountain  brow, 
And  nestled  in  the  valleys  ;  happiness 
Seemed  to  have  found  at  last  a  fitting  home, 


4 


54 


HESPERIA, 


Where  a  new  Eden  might  adorn  the  world  : 

The  earth  renewed  her  life,  the  bursting  flowers 

Blossomed  on  every  gory  battle-field 

Bedewed  with  tears,  the  angels'  offering. 

Which  Night,  descending,  scattered  o'er  the  graves 

Of  those  who  perished,  Freedom's  life  to  save. 

All  nature  answered  to  the  thrill  of  joy 

That  woke  with  Liberty's  triumphal  song, 

Reverberating  far  amid  the  hills, 

And  echoing  to  the  remotest  star. 

But  here,  as  everywhere,  dissension  came : 

A  serpent,  whom  the  winter  night  of  war 

Drove  to  its  den  but  slew  not,  now  came  forth 

To  bask  again  in  the  sunshine  of  peace. 

Success  kindles  ambition,  and  the  lust 

For  lawless  power,  in  the  hearts  of  those 

Not  wholly  true  to  virtue.    None  beheld 

This  lurking  presence,  save  the  one  whose  eyes 

Were  brighter  far  than  piercing  shafts  of  flame 

From  the  swift  lightning  ;  and  she  even  saw 

That  they,  unconscious  of  its  deadly  power, 

Were  yielding  to  the  poison  it  exhaled.  — 

So  does  the  moral  atmosphere  become 

Contaminated  by  an  impure  breath. 

The  moral  sense  is  deadened,  and  the  mind 

Yields,  the  swift  prey  to  its  most  potent  spell. — 

So  madly  joyous  w^ere  they  with  success 

They  could  not  see  the  danger  lurking  near  ; 

Intoxicated,  they  forgot  the  pledge 

Once  made,  most  sacred,  to  Astraea's  name, 

And  the  brave  few  who  spoke  protestingly. 

Were  warned  to  wake  no  voice  of  dreadful  war. 


FRATERNFA. 


55 


Thus  were  they  silenced  when  their  hearts  were  full ; 
O,  those  were  days  so  pregnant  for  all  time, 
That  if  she  spoke  not  she  well  knew  her  name 
To  future  ages  would  go  down  in  shame. 
Then  he  who  loved  her  felt  her  inmost  thought, 
And  breathed  upon  the  multitude  his  words 
Of  wisdom,  till  they  all  were  calm.    His  voice 
Had  such  sweet  power  to  charm  them,  the  high  souls 
Of  those  who  serve  the  truth  were  deeply  moved : 
"  Mother  of  mysteries,  whose  bosom  holds 
The  secrets  of  all  time,  the  prophesies 
Of  that  unfolding  future,  whose  bright  bud. 
Like  an  eternal  rose,  blossoms  in  space. 
Fills  with  its  essence  the  sad  offering 
Of  our  poor  lives,  veiled  Isis,  whose  soft  breast 
Nurtured  the  nations,  till  they  fled  from  thee, 
And  made  them  fitting  gems  to  crown  the  brow 
Of  the  Most  High,  —  be  Thou  our  strength  to-day ! 
Let  us  return  to  Thee  and  converse  hold 
With  Thy  sweet  voice,  and  learn  anew  the  page 
Whereon  Thy  sacred  records  all  are  traced. 
Illuminated  by  those  wondrous  minds 
Whose  deeds  shine  brighter  far  than  burnished  gold. 
Let  us  make  ruins  of  our  prison  \valls, 
And  those  obnoxious  and  foul  dungeon  cells, 
Almshouses  and  asylums,  dear  alone 
To  darkness  and  corruption ;  those  dim  vaults 
We  misname  sacred  temples,  and  profane 
God's  holy  name  by  hatred  to  our  kind  ; 
Those  hot-beds,  too  of  crime,  where  avarice 
And  pride  walk  hand  in  hand,  to  bind  the  thing 
We  call  enlightenment  —  that  barren  flame, 


56 


HESPERIA. 


Whose  fatuous  and  superficial  glare 

Makes  room  for  vices,  each  one  like  a  spot 

Of  leprosy,  upon  the  nation's  breast.  — 

Let  us  return  to  Thee,  Thy  perfumed  breath 

Rises  like  incense  from  Thy  altars  old  ; 

Let  us  retrace  the  long  and  winding  way 

In  which  the  world,  has  trod  afar  from  Thee, ' 

Finding  again  the  path  which,  parallel 

To  ours,  runs  through  the  cycle  of  all  years 

And  makes  the  world  a  counterpart  of  heaven. 

Nations  begin  in  crime  and  violence 

What  they  must  hold  by  fraud,  and  evermore 

Perpetuate  through  fear.    Kings  never  dare 

Make  perfect  laws,  for  then  they  must  become 

Their  subjects  ;  it  is  easy  to  make  rules 

For  others,  set  the  golden  word  on  high. 

For  all  the  world  to  follow  save  ourselves. 

We  claim  exemption  by  a  special  plea 

And  hope  to  pettifog  our  way  to  heaven. 

Work  ill  begun,  no  influence  of  art 

Can  ever  make  it  right ;  the  child  deformed, 

Misshapen  at  its  birth  by  some  outrage 

On  the  sweet  law^  of  love,  or  driven  blind 

By  ante-natal  violence,  or  worse. 

Warped  in  its  mind  by  false  blending  of  lives 

That  never  were  created  to  be  one  ; 

These  wrongs  can  ne'er  be  righted,  till  the  law 

Of  gradual,  aspiring  change,  or  death, 

Has  set  the  fettered,  fainting  spirit  free. 

If  we  would  not  wholly  become  absorbed, 

Obscured,  and  lost  in  foul  ambition's  night, 

Let  us  fulfill  the  solemn,  sacred  vow 


FRATERNIA. 


Upon  the  altar  we  have  builded  here ; 

But  if  we  love  not  Thee  and  e'er  forsake 

Thy  wondrous  loveliness,  and  our  dull  ears 

Hear  not  Thy  voice  of  melody,  and  eyes 

Grow  bleared  and  blinded  by  Fame's  falsest  glare 

If  we  feel  not  Thy  sweet  lips  touch  our  own. 

Nor  drink  the  nectar  of  Thy  dewy  breath  ; 

If  Thy  arms  fold  us  not  in  sweet  embrace^ 

And  we  feed  not  from  Thy  maternal  breast  \ 

If  we  feel  not  Thy  pulses'  gentle  beat 

In  unison  with  our  heart-throbbings  wild ; 

If  all  the  rapture  which  the  heart  can  know 

Is  not  awakened  by  Thy  presence  dear,  — 

Then  let  decay  sit  mocking  in  our  hearts, 

And  grim  despair  hold  empire  over  us  ; 

Let  our  forms  wither,  and  our  wrinkled  brows 

Yield  the  sere  crop  of  sorrow's  whitened  locks  ;  . 

Let  us  not  taste  of  gladness,  never  know 

The  sound  of  joyous  melody ;  let  all  the  weight 

Of  years  bend  us  with  premature  decay ; 

Let  the  sun  shine  not  on  our  sightless  orbs. 

And  madly,  as  a  drunken  poet  reels 

Down  the  steep  mazes  of  some  giddy  height, 

Or  as  the  nations  of  all  time  have  plunged 

Down  the  abyss  of  swift  destruction's  night, 

Let  us,  giddy  and  blinded  by  ambition,  go 

Till  dread  annihilation's  fearful  maw 

Devours  all  that  has  made  us  proud  and  great." 

IIL 

As  though  a  beautiful  expanding  rose. 
Whose  crimson  petals,  waiting  to  unfold, 


58 


HESPERIA. 


Loitered  in  sweet  and  silent  mystery 
For  the  caressing  winds  and  sun  to  pour 
Their  winsome  offerings  upon  its  shrine, 
Were  suddenly  to  feel  a  blighting  breath 
Within  the  charmed  centre  of  its  heart, 
And  all  its  leaves  grow  sere  in  one  short  hour  — 
But  the  sorrows  of  childhood  are  fleeting,  thfey  say, 
The  roses  return  with  the  first  breath  of  May, 
And  the  blight  never  touches  the  heart  of  the  tree, 
For  the  root  is  as  close  and  as  \varm  as  can  be  — 
As  though  a  calm  and  lovely  April  morn. 
Replete  with  bursting  life  and  song  of  birds, 
Alive  with  winged  breezes,  everywhere 
Bearing  prophetic  odors  from  the  south, 
Skies  tinted  with  pale  cerulean  light, 
Were,  on  the  instant,  to  exchange  its  joy, 
Its  song  and  fragrance  for  stern  wintry  blasts, 
Blackening  all  the  opalescent  sky. 
Leaving  the  sad  earth  drear  and  desolate  — 
But  the  sorrows  of  youth  are  fleeting,  they  say. 
For  the  tempest  is  over  and  past  in  a  day. 
And  the  storm-clouds  hurr}dng,  scurrying  by, 
Give  strength  to  the  forest  and  blue  to  the  sky  — 
As  though  a  prelude,  wondrously  sweet, 
Trembling  upon  a  lyre  with  golden  strings. 
Deepening  into  a  matchless  symphony, 
Were  'strangely  struck  to  discord  horrible. 
Shattering  all  rhe  notes,  till  shivering 
And  quivering  they  died  in  dreary  wails  — 
But  the  sorrows  of  youth  are  fleeting,  they  say, 
For  ^olus  breathes  on  his  harp  every  May ; 
And  the  chords  in  the  heart  may  be  tundd  to  love, 
By  the  joy  of  a  purpose  outwrought  from  above.  — 


FRATERNIA, 


59 


Alone,  alone,  first  she  would  wildly  weep. 
And  fling  her  form  upon  her  lonely  couch, 
Calling  her  mother's  name  in  piercing  tones 
Of  deepest  love  and  darkest  agony  : 
"  O,  whither  hast  thou  gone,  thou  wert  riiost  good. 
Didst  thoU  not  love  me?    But  it  was  not  kind 
Thus,  thus  to  leave  me  ;  I  will  follow  thee. 
What  is  it  to  be  dead?    I  too  would  die  — 
Where  have  they  carried  thee  ?    Why  am  I  here  ? 
Can  I  not  find  our  peaceful  mountain  home  ? 
I  know  full  well  thou'rt  waiting  for  me  there.'' 
Then,  when  the  fountain  floods  of  grief  were  drained, 
And  tears  would  flow  no  more  to  ease  her  pain. 
And  words  were  frightened  by  their  own  sad  sound. 
Pale,  silent,  tearless,  in  her  loneliness. 
She  moaned  and  wailed  and  wandered  day  by  day  j 
Would  she  ever  thus  walk  amid  the  gloom  — 
The  darkened  shadow  of  that  dread  eclipse 
Called  death,  which,  if  we  see  not  clearly,  leaves 
A  blank,  cold  void  forever  in  the  heart  ?^ — 
How  long  it  was  she  knew  not,  for  when  woe 
Sits  quite  alone  within  the  heart's  deep  shrine 
Each  moment  is  an  age  of  misery, 
And  ages  are  as  naught. 

At  last  there  came 
Summons  from  those  to  whose  kind  care  and  love 
She  had  by  her  dear  mother's  last  bequest 
Been  left.    They  sat  in  those  high  sacred  halls. 
And  all  were  wise  and  great,  and  some  were  true. 
To  the  famed  court  she  willingly  repaired, 
Perchance  to  learn  where  her  beloved  ones  were, 
Or  aught  that  would  alleviate  her  woe. 


6o 


HESPERJA. 


Then,  when  they  saw  her  grief  and  loneliness, 
Her  beauty  dawning  into  maiden  grace, 
All  breasts  were  smote  with  sudden  tenderness. 
Anew  they  pledged  her  by  those  sacred  names, 
Which  they  still  cherished  in  their  heart  of  hearts. 
That  peace  and  happiness  should  aye  be  hers. 
To  this  they  gave  their  honor  and  their  lives ; 
But  they  were  burdened  with  ^  the  many  cares 
Attendant  on  their  public  services. 
And  all  bethought  themselves  if  they  knew  one, 
To  whom,  for  sweet  companionship  and  care. 
They  could  intrust  their  beautiful  young  charge. 
Prostrate  before  those  mighty  men  she  knelt 
In  supplication,  saying,  "  If  ye  e'er  have  loved 
The  sacred  names  ye  now  pledge  unto  me, 
If  ye  believe  in  th'  wise  and  good  of  earth, 
If  nature  holds  for  you  any  sweet  charms. 
Let  me  return  to  that  loved  mountain  home, 
WheKe,  something  tells  me,  my  beloved  are. 
Or  if  pale  death  has  taken  them  away. 
Their  souls  still  haunt  those  lonely  solitudes, 
And  I  shall  feel  them  in  the  atmosphere  ; 
There  none  will  be  compelled  to  care  for  me, 
And  the  wild  eagle  will  soon  bring  my  food. 
Or  still  among  the  untaught  foresters 
I  have  full  many  friends  who  love  me  well.'' 
"  Alas,  dear  child  !  "  they  answered,  "  your  poor  brain 
Has  been  with  grief  and  loneliness  o'erwrought. 
And  fancy  has  but  pictured  that  wild  place. 
For  well  we  know  you  never  could  have  lived 
As  you  describe :  the  mountains  are  most  bare  ; 
And  eagles  do  not  rob  their  young  of  food 


FRA  TERNIA, 


To  succor  even  one  so  sweet  as  thou. 
As  for  the  savages  you  call  your  friends, 
They  are  as  fierce  as  the  wild  beasts,  and  soon 
Would  find  a  fearful  trophy  in  your  blood. 
When  you  came  to  us  with  your  own  dear  ones, 
It  was  from  far  across  the  distant  sea." 
She  would  have  spoken,  but  she  stood  amazed 
At  the  base  falsehood,  uttered  in  the  guise 
Of  love  and  kindness ;  and  alas,  poor  child  ! 
How  could  she  know  that  any  hearts  were  true. 
Since  all  sat  silently  in  stern  accord 
With  words  to  which  she  could  find  no  reply? 
But  as  the  bursting  torrent  of  her  grief 
And  indignation  swelled  to  their  full  height, 
And  would  have  hurled  the  utterances  back. 
Another,  blander  than  the  first,  then  spoke  : 
"There  is  a  lady  here  who  is  well  loved 
And  honored  by  us  all.    Knowing  your  grief 
And  tender  years,  she  proffers  you  a  home 
With.  her.    We  cannot  tell  the  happiness 
Which  it  will  cause  her  heart  to  comfort  you, 
And  you  will  love  her  well ;  —  a  bond  is  made 
By  her  and  us,  placed  in  the  archives  here. 
Each  pledging  to  fulfill  our  sacred  trust. 
And  hold  to  you  forever  unimpaired 
The  priceless  heritage  wholly  your  own. 
We  wait  upon  the  lady  for  each  wish 
You  may  express,  except  the  cruel  one 
That  would  deprive  us  of  your  presence  here." 


PART  III. 
LLAMIA. 


JB^Xf icactetr  ta 

WILLIAM  LLOYD  GARRISON, 

AND  HIS  NOBLE  COADJUTORS,  THE  MEN  AND  WOMEN  OF 
THE  AMERICAN  ANTI-SLAVERY  SOCIETY. 


1 


LLAMIA. 


I. 


WOMAN  came,  with  voice  like  liquid  drops 


Her  presence  was  at  once  a  mystic  spell 

Of  wonder  and  of  terror ;  her  clear  eyes 

Reflected  light,  answering  not  the  gaze, 

But  rather  gave  back  lightnings  not  their  own. 

Her  face  was  fair  and  cold  as  the  orbed  moon, 

But  not  so  pure  its  clear  transparent  light. 

And  far  too  dazzling  its  rare  loveliness. 

Around  her  low  and  snowy  forehead  wound, 

Coil  upon  coil,  her  iridescent  hair : 

Now  black,  now  purple,  violet  or  gold, 

As  light  alternately  with  shadow  played 

Upon  the  tresses  that  abundant  fell 

Sinuously  adown  her  heaving  breast. 

Her  form  was  perfect;  to  its  faultless  mould 

Was  added  a  rare  undulating  grace 

Of  motion,  far  more  beautiful  than  rest,  — 

Suggesting  all  those  weird  and  wondrous  shapes, 

All  tides  of  oceans  sliding  up  dark  sands. 

All  forest  branches  swaying  tempest-tossed 

And  intertwined,  until  each  one  is  merged 

In  sweet  embracement  with  its  sister  tree ; 

All  tendrils  of  long,  coiling,  shining  stems 


darkened  well  ; 


5 


# 


HESPERIA, 


And  slimy  grasses  waving  to  and  fro  ; 
All  gliding  movements  suddenly  withdrawn 
Within  a  black  and  silent  forest  lake, 
Whose  polished  surface  carefully  conceals 
The  processes  of  life  hidden  beneath. 
But  not  the  ravishment  of  these  fair  charms, 
Nor  wealdi  of  her  surpassing  loveliness, 
Could  so  enchain  and  fascinate  the  soul. 
So  win  the  admiration  of  all  minds ; 
And  even  when  the  tongue  refused  to  praise. 
Draw  silent  homage  from  the  worshippers, 
'Twas  the  completeness  of  her  mystery. 
A  mind  whose  attributes  were  only  veiled, 
Not  wholly  hidden  by  her  loveliness  ; 
In  whom  wisdom  and  virtue  seemed  to  find 
At  last  a  fitting  oracle,  —  seemed,  I  say, 
For  neither  eye  nor  mind  could  penetrate 
Beyond  the  dazzling  splendor  of  that  form: 
Grace,  culture,  art,  beauty,  and  piety. 
Modest  demeanor,  not  .timidity, 
A  ready  ear  for  other's  suffering, 
A  honeyed  tongue  to  utter  sympathy. 
Perfect  control  of  every  matchless  gift 
With  which  she  lavishly  had  been  endowed ; 
The  full  embodiment  of  every  grace. 
And  those  high  half  angelic  attributes 
Which  link  pure  womanhood  to  the  Divine. 
Or  if  she  were  not  these,  then,  truly  then. 
Sister  to  that  bright  fallen  Lucifer, 
Whose  dread  exile  left  heaven  bare  and  void. 
Hesperia  fixed  on  her  those  sad  eyes  ; 
Suddenly  all  their  wonted  fire  returned : 


LLAMIA. 


67 


Her  cheek  grew  crimson  with  the  reverse  tide 
Of  Hfe  and  thought  renewing  their  career, 
Her  slender  form  swayed  like  the  willow-tree, 
And  look  and  gesture  eloquently  said  : 
"  Lady,  though  fair  your  face,  'tis  strange  to  me  ; 
Whoever  you  may  be,  I  love  you  not." 
Llamia  smiled  in  sweet  complacency, 
Turning  away  her  gaze,  but  soon  she  spoke  j 
Hesperia  listened ;  there  was  a  tone 
In  that  strange  voice  of  rarest  power  to  charm  ; 
'Twas  not  the  import  of  the  soothing  words, 
Only  the  modulation  of  the  sound 
Penetrated  her  mind,  and  o'er  her  soul 
Wove  a  soft  mist-like  spell  that  lured  the  sense. 
Then  Llamia  extended  her  white  hand, 
Touched  tenderly  the  young  girl's  shining  hair, 
Until  she  grew  quite  calm,  —  if  it  be  calm 
To  sit  with  motionless  pale  lips  and  hands 
And  eyes  gazing  on  vacancy,  the  while 
The  lids  fall  heavily,  half  curtaining 
The  splendid  orbs  of  shaded  violet. 
A  sound  of  voices  pleading  for  the  child. 
Murmured  amid  the  gathering  multitude  : 
But  when  they  saw  how  quietly  she  went 
With  Llamia,  their  voices  died  away, 
And  though  their  hearts  were  sad  with  forebodings, 
Reluctantly  their  lips  said,  "  It  is  well."  — 
And  here  I  write  it,  whatsoever  comes 
To  the  dear  child  for  whom  this  song  is  sung, 
For  whom  these  tearful  blood-stained  words  are  traced, 
That  those  men  in  the  inmost  recesses 
Of  their  fond  hearts,  loved  her  full  tenderly. 


68 


HESPERIA, 


Wished  her  each  good  that  Heaven  could  bestow, 

All  blessings  the  fair  earth  could  ever  yield  ; 

And  did  intend  to  fill  the  faithful  pledge, 

The  solemn  promise  made  in  her  young  years, 

To  those  who  left  her  in  their  promised  care. 

I  write  it  here  for  every  one  to  read, 

That  more  through  love,  than  fear  or  paltry  gain, 

They  thus  performed  a  part,  acted  a  lie. 

That  they  might  shield  her  from  those  open  foes 

Who  sought  her  life  j  they  thought  no  further  ill 

Could  come  to  her  than  those  woes  incident 

To  any  maiden  beautiful  and  loved. 

I  write  it  here  whatever  else  may  come. 

That  'twas  an  error  of  the  mind,  and  not 

Perversion  of  the  heart,  that  thus  they  stood 

Between  her  and  the  only  perfect  joy 

That  could  be  hers,  barring  the  sacred  door 

Of  nature  'gainst  her  tender  dawning  life, 

And  binding  her  by  an  unhallowed  pledge. 


LLAMIA,  69 


11. 

CALIOS. 

THE  POET. 

Anear  the  heart  of  the  metropolis, 
Withdrawn  a  little  from  its  din  and  glare, 
Set  like  an  emerald  'mid  baser  things, 
Was  an  inclosure  of  rare  evergreens. 
So  closely  and  so  densely  interlaced, 
That  an  impenetrable  barrier 

Was  formed  to  all  approach,  save  where  an  arch, 
O'erspanned  with  trailing  vines  and  branches  twined 
Of  treeS;  standing  like  stately  sentinels, 
Stretching  their  long  arms  o'er  the  iron  gates. 
Without,  one  could  not  guess  the  loveliness 
Concealed  within  this  hallowed  retreat. 
'Tis  true  on  unseen  wings  the  odors  fell 
Upon  the  weary  trav'Uer's  grateful  sense,  — 
Or  song  of  birds,  the  robin  and  wood-thrush, 
Would  startle  all  the  air  to  vibrant  notes  ; 
And  glimpses,  through  the  intertwining  trees, 
Of  a  white  temple  w^ondrous  and  rare. 
Would  flash  upon  the  wand'rer's  wondering  eye. 
To  whom  the  place  belonged  no  one  could  tell ; 
>         Or  if  an  occupant  or  worshipper 

E'er  entered  or  passed  from  its  lonely  haunts. 
Some  dared  to  say  'twas  haunted,  and  strange  tales 
Were  told  of  dark  deeds "  done  in  years  agone  ; 


70 


HESPERIA. 


Others  that  a  recluse,  unseen  of  men, 

Yet  watching  all  from  his  secure  retreat,  — 

Mysterious  his  movements,  and  his  origin 

A  wild  conjecture,  —  within  dwelt  alone. 

Thither  at  night  came  Llamia,  disguised, 

Companioned  by  her  young  and  lovely  charge 

Close  veiled,  unseen  by  all  \  yet  silently 

The  massive  gates  swung  back^  at  their  approach, 

And  the  full  flood  of  sweet  and  wild  perfume 

Fell  round  them,  filling  every  outward  sense 

With  rare  intoxication  and  delight. 

By  the  pale  moon  Hesperia  could  trace 

The  weird  and  witching  beauty  everywhere,  — 

The  moss-grown  paths,  the  over-arching  trees, 

Patches  of  emerald  lawn,  star-paved  with  flowers, 

Vines  trailing,  clinging,  twining  all  around; 

And  from  one  dark  recess  an  ancient  stone. 

Carved,  as  she  knew,  with  cunning  craft  and  skill, 

Startled  her  heart  as  though  a  form  of.  life 

Had  peered  upon  her  from  that  sylvan  shade  ; 

But  Llamia  hastened  with  rapid  feet. 

Soon  the  chief  wonder  of  that  lovely  place 

Arose  before  the  maiden's  raptured  gaze,  — 

A  snowy  edifice,  perfect,  unique. 

Leaned  its  fair  outline  'gainst  the  midnight  sky. 

So  was  her  soul  stirred  by  this  strangest  scene,  — 

The  hour,  the  mystery,  the  beauty  there,  — 

That  she  could  only  gaze  and  drink  her  fill 

Of  loveliness  j  she  saw  not  but  was  moved 

With  wonder  to  possess  the  secret  thought 

Of  Llamia  in  this  strange  pilgrimage, 

Ready  to  break  the  fascinating  spell 


LLAMIA,  71 

That  now  held  its  supreme  entire  control 

Over  her  spirit,  a  vague  memory 

Or  dream,  that  sometime  she  had  seen 

What  she  now  saw,  and  felt  the  same  intense 

And  undefined  pleasure.    They  had  passed 

The  marble  steps  and  pillared  portico ; 

Already,  unannounced,  the  opened  door 

Bade  them  enter,  and  other  inner  doors 

As  silently  and  magically  swung 

At  their  approach.    She  stood  transfixed  and  pale 

Within  an  oval  room,  o'ercanopied 

With  blue,  studded  with  silver,  diamond  stars, 

And  hung  with  heavy  folds  of  drapery 

Crimson  and  white,  sweeping  down  to  the  floor 

Of  softest  green,  like  velvet  mosses  sweet. 

Upon  an  eminence,  a  purple  throne 

Uplifted,  sat  a  strange,  wild,  pallid  man 

With  snowy  robes,  and  flowing  locks  back  thrown 

From  a  high  polished  brow  of  dazzling  white. 

Beneath  which  flashed  dark  eyes  so  piercing  bright 

That  every  gleam  seemed  like  a  point  of  flame. 

A  silver  band  rested  upon  his  head. 

And  on  his  pallid  face,  youthful  but  wan. 

Flitted  a  smile  of  patience,  half  like  pain. 

But  if  this  wild  strange  place  enchanted  her,' 

For  Llamia  there  seemed  nor  peace  nor  rest. 

She  hurriedly  advanced  and,  bending  low, 

Said,  "O,  most  potent  sorcerer,  wherefore 

Hast  thou  thus  summoned  us  through  the  dark  night 

By  the  o'erpowering  magic  of  that  will 

Which  I  can  never  question.    I  have  sought 

Thy  wiser  counsels  when  my  way  seemed  dark, 


/ 


72 


HESPERIA. 


But  now  tis  full  of  life  and  hope  and  joy, 
And  I  would  fain  have  spared  the  young  bird  there 
Another  pang  of  terror,  for  this  scene 
Is  poorly  fitted  for  a  soul  like  hers/' 
"Thou  knowest,  Llamia,  thy  speech  is  vain, — 
The  idle  babbling  of  thy  false  smooth  tongue. 
Thou  knowest  I  have  sought  through  many  years 
This  lovely  image  thou  wouldst  fain  defile, 
And  I  have  summoned  all  the  powers  above, 
Around,  and  in  the  midnight  air, 
To  force  thee  thither  with  thy  fair  young  charge, 
That  I  might  warn  her  of  thy  treachery. 
And  ^id  her  brave  all  things  rather-  than  take 
The  honey-cup  of  poison  thou  wouldst  give.'' 
Llamia  writhed  beneath  his  steady  gaze. 
As  a  charmed  serpent  robbed  of  its  dread  sting, 
Nor  ventured  a  reply.    For  Hesperia 
This  was  a  moment  of  supremest  joy  ; 
The  words,  the  import  of  their  talk  was  nought, 
She  gazed  upon  the  stranger's  pale  sad  face. 
And  the  walls  parted.    Once  again  she  stood 
On  the  loved  mountain's  height,  her  childhood's  home. 
She  heard  the  song  of  birds  and  her  glad  sense 
Drank  the  clear  sunshine  and  pelluoid  air ; 
She  wandered  at  her  will  the  wilds  among. 
And  now  she  pauses  where  a  precipice 
Opens  its  yawning  mouth  far,  far  below. 
In  childish  bravery  she  ventures  near. 
When,  conscious  of  the  danger,  her  swift  feet 
Already  turn  to  bear  her  from  the  place. 
When  lo,  upon  the  very  outer  verge 
Of  an  o'erhanging  moss-grown  rock,  reclined 


LLAMIA, 


73 


A  youth  in  silent  slumber  softly  clothed, 
The  soft  wind  toying  with  his  heavy  hair, 
And  dreams  like  smiles  hovering  round  his  face. 
Full  well  her  intuitions  taught  her  heart 
That  to  waken  him  suddenly  were  death. 
So,  carefully  concealed  within  the  shade, 
In  mimicry  complete  she  gave  her  voice 
Wings,  and  the  clear  note  of  the  wild  wood-thrush 
Fell  on  the  dreamer's  ear  with  rhapsody 
Divine ;  yet  stifling  all  his  yearnings  wild 
To  see  the  tiny  warbler,  he  moved  slow 
And  softly  from  the  deadly  resting-place. 
Then  all  was  still,  the  sleeper  looked  around, 
Wondered  if  he  were  dreaming,  and  beheld 
For  the  first  time  the  fearful  chasm  below. 
Then  a  sweet  voice  broke  the  still  atmosphere,  — 
"Twas  I  that  wakened  you,  call  me  wood-thrush.'^ 
And  out  from  her  retreat  the  fair  child  sprang 
Like  woodland  fairy,  and  as  soon  was  gone. 
Not  fled  her  image  from  the  poet's  heart, 
For  all  his  days  and  nights  were  haunted  then 
With  one  sweet  sound  and  one  beloved  form. 
But  no  weak  words  now  fell  from  their  mute  lips, 
No  glance  betrayed  their  wondrous  new  embrace,  — 
The  recognition  of  their  mutual  souls. 
His  voice  grew  like  the  solemn  sounding  sea, 
While  thus  he  spake,  "  O  lady,  fifir  as  morn. 
And  youthful  as  the  very  dream  of  youth, 
Pure  as  the  snow,  endure  and  suffer  all 
That  Heaven  may  decree  to  your  young  heart ; 
But  ever  'gainst  the  spell  this  woman  holds, 
Who  for  a  space  stands  between  God  and  thee, 


V 


74  HESPERIA. 

Be  thou  as  firm  as  rock  of  adamant. 
She  has  a  power  sometimes  o'er  thy  form, 
But  never  can  her  purpose  touch  the  soul, 
For  she  is  false  as  thou  art  good  and  fair.'* 
Then  turning  to  the  other  one,  he  said,  — 
"Go,  Llamia,  and  when  again  I  call, 
'Twill  be  unto  a  doom  as  dread  and  dire 
As  is  thy  life  seemingly  bright  to-day ; 
Thy  charge  go  with  thee,  but  no  subtlety 
Of  thy  foul  arts  can  stain  or  mar  her  soul." 
Once  more  the  magic  moving  doors  unclosed, 
And  out  into  the  fragrant  starlit  air 
The  two  went  forth,  treading  the  winding  paths, 
So  near  each  other  they  could  feel  tlie  breath 
Low  issuing  from  each  warm  living  mouth, — 
But  far  apart  in  soul  as  Heaven  and  Earth, 


HEART  SONG  OF  HESPERIA. 
I. 

But  O,  for  the  joy  of  that  maiden's  soul, 

She  who  but  so  late 

Was  all  desolate. 
Her  soul  shouted  aloud  and  beyond  control. 

II. 

And  as  her  feet  sped  o'er  the  raptured  ground, 

Like  soft  music's  spell, 

Their  swift  falling  fell 
And  made  the  world  echo  with  one  joyous  sound. 


LLAMIA. 


III. 

For  she  held  a  thought  like  a  bursting  rose 

In -her  longing  heart, 

And  would  not  depart, 
But  awaited  the  breath  of  the  dew  to  unclose. 

IV. 

She  heeded  not  the  deserted  street, 

But  she  sang  a  song 

The  whole  way  along. 
And  it  floated  afar  like  an  odor  sweet. 

V. 

She  saw  not  the  glaring  dazzling  wall, 

Nor  noted  the  door, 

With  its  high  arch  o'er, 
Nor  the  minions  that  waited  her  slightest  call. 

VI. 

For  her  heart  was  thrilled  with  a  new  delight, 

Her  mind  was  away 

On  the  hills  of  day, 
As  a  lark  who  singeth  his  song  out  of  sight. 

VII. 

But  O,  for  the  hope  of  that  maiden's  heart, 

Like  a  mountain  stream, 

Like  a  seraph's  dream. 
Like  a  thought  of  the  Ever-living  —  a  part. 


HESFERIA. 


VIII. 

She  noted  not  that  the  way  was  long, 

For  she  saw  afar, 

Like  a  beacon-star, 
The  light  of  her  soul  blazing  pure  and^  strong. 

IX. 

She  heeded  not  that  the  many,  moved 

By  her  loneliness. 

By  her  deep  distress, 
Sought  her  and  honored  as  one  beloved. 

X. 

Not  one  of  the  flattering  sycophants, 

Who  in  Llamia's  name 

To  her  altar  came. 
Could  waken  her  soul  from  its  joyous  trance. 

XI. 

But  O,  for  the  faith  of  that  maiden's  soul, 

So  surpassing  high. 

Like  a  star  in  the  sky. 
Enfolding  and  holding  with  silent  control. 

XII. 

There  is  need  of  thy  joy,  O  maiden  of  snow, 

For  the  serpent  moves 

On  the  sleeping  doves. 
By  the  deep  subtle  charm  of  its  evil  vow. 


LLAMIA. 


XIII. 

Draw  close  to  thy  soul  thy  vestal  rose 
And  robes  flowing  wild  j 
O  thou  undefiled, 

For  the  gateways  of  destiny  swiftly  unclose. 

III. 

INTERLUDE. 

If,  from  the  brow  of  star-encircled  hills 
The  tempest  tosses  all  his  plumes  of  flame, 
And,  like  a  giant  falcon,  screams  afar 
O'ershadowing  the  valley  with  his  wings, 
Till  earth  and  atmosphere  are  moved  anew 
With  the  majestic  purpose  of  the  storm;- — 
Or,  suddenly,  the  splendid  fires  are  lit 
Upon  the  mountain  tops  and  in  the  sky, 
Lighting  the  lower  world  with  liquid  rays 
Too  brilliantly  intense  for  sight  to  bear, 
What  wonder  if  the  dazzling  glory  be 
Too  radiant  for  our  dim,  weary  eyes, 
And  we  grow  blind  gazing  upon  its  light, 
As  the  mad  poet  did  who  strove  to  grasp 
The  fiery  chariot  of  the  great  sun; 
Or  him  whose  spirit  sought  to  reconcile 
The  beautiful  glad  universe  of  God 
With  the  pale  errors  of  man's  foolish  brain  ? 
And  when  he  saw  how  utterly  was  truth 
Revealed  in  nature's  perfect  potent  plan, 
His  spirit  scorned  the  grosser  form  it  wore, 


HESPEMA, 


And  was  drawn  upward  to  the  soul  of  God 

As  the  skylark  is  summoned  to  the  dawn. 

Sometimes  Nemesis  closes  all  the  gates 

By  which  we  might  escape  the  agony 

Of  aimless  being.    E'en  the  boon  of  death 

Denies,  and  forces  back  the  swelling  tides 

Of  fervid  fire  imprisoned  in  the  soul, — 

Until  a  sudden  joy  or  sorrow  smites 

Our  hearts,  and  the  full  fountains  flow  in  floods, 

As  wintry  ice  is  melted  by  the  rain 

Of  early  spring.    If  we  but  knew  the  path 

That  often  lies  concealed  close  to  our  feet, 

Or  if  the  way  of  duty  would  but  ope 

Each  day  unto  our  eager,  longing  eyes, 

Our  spirits  ne'er  would  weary,  but  would  go 

Gladly  as  children  by  their  parents  led 

Through  forest  paths  and  meadows  sweet  with  dew, 

Or  cities'  gayly  crowded  thoroughfares. 

Where'er  new  pleasures  or  new  knowledge  came. 

But  hearts  grow  dull,   and  lives  barren  and  void, 

Because  the  circle  of  stern  circumstance 

Remains  for  aye  unbroken.    That  pale  joy. 

The  stale  and  shallow  mockery  of  bliss. 

Grows  wearisome  to  the  satiated  heart. 

Because  the  dreary  treadmill  of  dull  care 

Permits  no  bubbling  fount  of  liquid  love 

To  well  from  the  eternal  source  of  things 

Renewing  and  replenishing  its  flame  ; 

Because  their  lips  are  kissed  not  by  the  breath 

Of  that  sweet  being  whose  supernal  grace 

Hallows  all  scenes  and  gilds  the  lowliest  state 

With  glimpses  of  a  heritage  sublime. 


LLAMIA.  79 

E'en  sorrow,  with  her  silent  shafts,  can  rend 

The  strongest  chains  of  desolate  despair ; 

And  as  the  ocean  swallows  the  small  streams, 

Or  the  sun's  rays  eclipse  the  taper's  light, 

So  does  the  larger  grief  engulf  the  less. 

And  both  are  swept  away  by  very  force 

Of  their  own  violence.    But  thou,  O  Love, 

Thou,  from  whose  presence  desolation  flies, 

And  all  consuming,  all  corroding  care, 

Within  whose  light  no  languor  can  abide. 

Illumining  the  void  and  barren  vaults 

Of  worldly  ruin  with  thy  wondrous  beams, 

Usurping  every  fear  and  doubt  and  pain 

With  thy  fair  image,  entering  the  tombs, 

Prisons,  and  charnel-houses  of  the  soul, 

And  rearing  ever  there  thy  matchless  dome,— 

Gold-paven,  star-illumined,  glorified  ; 

Thou  revelation  of  the  soul  of  things, 

Thou  incarnating  spirit,  and  thou  flame. 

Consuming  all  unworthiness  and  dross  ; 

Thou  sister  of  the  silver-sandaled  Death, 

Whose  shining  shafts  reveal  us  unto  God, 

And  Him  to  us,  and  to  ourselves  our  soul  ; 

Thou  golden  goddess  of  the  golden  sphere, 

Revealing  to  our  swift  awakened  souls 

The  splendid  images  of  Hope  and  Truth. 

Greater  art  thou  than  Death,  for  thou  art  Birth 

And  Life  and  Resurrection  ;  —  all  things  past 

Are  known  and  hallowed  in  thy  soft  eyes. 

The  present  is  not  young  but  old  as  thou. 

And  all  the  future  has  been  seen  by  thee  ; 

There  is  nor  birth  nor  death,  nor  time  nor  change, 


HESPERIA. 


For  all  things  are  absorbed,  blended  in  tliee, 
Enfolded  and  pervaded  by  thee,  Love. 

IV. 

The  home  of  Llamia,  —  if  two  such  names 

Can  thus  be  coupled,  —  for  her  beauty's  sake 

We  well  might  wish  the  sacred  thought  of  home 

Had  entered  once  into  her  heart  and  mind. 

But  for  the  subtle  art  which  clothed  her  here 

And  masked  her  thought  from  all,  save  him  alone 

Who  had  that  night  revealed  her  to  herself ; 

But  for  the  sophistry  and  self  deceit 

That  made  her  ever  love  the  thing  she  v/as 

And  only  hate  discovery  and  blame  ; 

Courting  all  falsehood  but  to  garnish  o'er, 

With  semblance  of  fair  truth,  her  corruption  ; 

But  for  the  native  poison  that  usurped 

All  purer  springs  and  overflowed  her  soul, 

Tainting,  corrupting,  fascinating  all ; 

But  for  the  web  of  her  whole  being,  w^ove 

With  deeds  that  to  reveal  or  separate 

Would  show  the  flimsy  flaw  of  the  whole  woof, 

And  even  rob  her  of  the  graceful  poise 

With  which  she  carried  every  point  in  life  ; 

But  for  the  innate  purpose  of  a  soul 

Permitted  thus,  by  God,  to  wear  a  form 

Of  loveliness,  in  which  to  hide  the  sin 

Of  man  and  of  itself,  until  it  grew 

Hideous  and  unlovely  from  the  void  within ;  — 

But  for  all  this,  she  that  night  would  have  flung 

Aside  her  veil  of  treachery  and  guilt 

Before  the  being  whom  she  had  betrayed, 


LLAMIA,  /8i 

In  act  but  far  more  terribly  in  thought, 

And  turned  her  whole  perverted  stream  of  life 

To  the  pure  source  of  being,  that  its  springs 

Might  become  purified  and  crystal  clear. 

But  ah,  when  nature  masks  a  principle 

In  fair  forms  or  misshapen  images, 

'Tis  that  the  fullness  of  the  primal  law, 

By  which  the  soul  stands  at  the  last  complete, 

Shall  by  reflection  of  all  opposites, 

All  dark  and  sinful  lives,  all  crimes  and  woes. 

Prove  how  o'er-masterful  is  the  Divine, 

How  even  godless  lives  reveal  God's  love. 

Home  with  four  glaring,  dazzling  walls. 
Ablaze  with  windows  upon  every  side, 
Facing  the  wide  and  crowded  thoroughfare ; 
A  place  made  weary  by  all  weary  eyes, 
From  whence  sickening  odors  ever  pour, 
To  fill  the  fetid  fainting  atmosphere. 
A  palace  amid  thousands  where  the  throng 
Of  Fashion's  votaries  forever  press ; 
A  place  where  teeming  opulence  and  pride, 
Blear-eyed  debauchery  and  dull  excess, 
Pale-faced  luxury  and  all  her  train. 
Walk  hand  in  hand  sometimes  with  chastity. 
Where  maidens  and  sweet  children  lose  their  bloom 
Amid  the  brazen  glare  of  leering  eyes  ; 
Where  doting  parents,  led  by  vain  conceit, 
Offer  the  innocent,  a  sacrifice. 
To  this  came  Llamia,  bringing  her  charge 
Amid  the  regal  throng  in  fashion's  court  ; 
Surrounded  by  the  fawning,  flattering  crowd, 
6 


HESPERIA, 


Feted,  courted,  admired,  feared  of  all. 

Amid  the  splendor  as  a  lily  pale 

Bloomed  the  fair  being  whom  fate  had  decreed 

To  share  the  only  home  Llamia  knew. 

Within  this  strange  and  glittering  abode 

Was  one  on  whom  Llamia  lavishly 

Bestowed  her  constant  and  untiring  care,  — 

That  which  in  higher  natures  is  named  love, 

In  her  was  an  o'erruling  passion-fire 

That  outweighed  and  eclipsed  all  other  things. 

The  object  of  this  fond,  caressing  care. 

She  called  her  son,  —  nor  dare  we  break  the  spell 

Of  the  mysterious  chain  which  bound  their  souls. 

When  Hesperia  first  saw  him,  her  soul 

Revolted  from  the  strange,  hideous  sight : 

A  small,  misshapen  head — with  feeble  face 

O'erhung  with  clustering  curls  like  Llamia's  — 

Set  on  a  body  so  deformed  and  dwarfed 

That  no  resemblance  to  the  human  form 

Could  well  be  traced  ;  each  separate  member 

Differed  from  its  companion,  and  was  hung 

With  loose  joints  'and  unwieldy  sinews  there, 

Refusing  to  perform  the  purposes 

For  which  life,  limb,  and  human  form  were  made. 

Diseases  rank  and  loathsome  seemed  to  hold 

Their  dread  enthrallment  over  all  his  frame, 

While  noxious  vapors  filled  the  fetid  air 

With  foul  contagion.    Vainly  Llamia 

Strove  to  conceal  his  many  maladies  ; 

His  feeble  voice  was  sharp,  and  pierced  the  air 

With  its  complainings  ;  but  upon  his  face 

And  in  his  eye  the  passion  ^tna  fires 


LLAMIA. 


Held  their  consuming  carnival  of  shame, 

And  every  lineament  bore  the  trace 

Of  the  dread  curse  of  moral  infamy. 

Attendant  on  his' slightest  wish  a  throng 

Of  menials  obeyed  his  low  desires, 

And  every  cruel  form  of  punishment 

Was  visited  upon  the  recreant. 

Around  his  room,  close  to  his  hand,  were  hung 

The  gyves,  fetters,  and  torturing  instruments 

With  which  to  goad  his  worn-out  servitors 

To  do  his  bidding.    Pictures,  full  of  shame 

And  horror,  hung  upon  the  walls. 

And  living  images  hovered  around,  — 

The  demons  or  the  victims  of  his  lust. 

O  God,  if  ever  a  lost  soul  enstamped 

Its  image  upon  living  human  forms. 

If  all  the  fearful  hosts  of  passion's  throng 

Sought  an  embodiment  in  outward  mould, 

If  every  foul  and  loathsome  thing  on  earth 

Ever  had  guise  and  shape  of  human  life, 

Then  Llamia  had  mirrored  in  his  form 

Her  own  soul's  hideous  deformity. 

Slowly,  by  those  degrees  that  subtle  art 
Alone  can  simulate  and  see  fulfilled, 
Llamia  sought  to  wind  the  venomed  chain 
Of  her  desires  and  those  of  her  foul  son. 
Round  Hesperia's  pure  and  spotless  soul ; 
And  when  they  saw  how  silent  she  became, 
Answering  not  their  horrid  hints,  the  while 
Though  uncompliant  to  their  purposes. 
They  grew  encouraged,  and  believed  the  vow 


HESPERIA, 

Might  yet  be  irrevocably  fulfilled. 
At  last  there  came  a  day  when  Llamia 
Sought  to  accomplish  her  vile  purposes. 
She  stood  beside  her  young  and  lovely  charge,  — 
Now  ripened  into  perfect  womanhood, 
And  golden  white,  like  all  things  free  from  stain,  — 
Upon  an  eminence  of  golden  fame, 
O'ercanopied  by  dome  enwrought  with  stars ; 
Fold  after  fold  of  scarlet  drapery 
Fell  round  their  feet,  upheld  to  the  high  point 
Of  the  bright  dome  in  beak  of  brazen  bird, 
Whose  talons  held  the  proud  and  flaming  shield 
That  Llamia  had  claimed  as  her  own  ; 
Arrayed  in  robes  of  spotless,  fleecy  white, 
Unconscious  of  the  purpose  of  this  fete, 
Hesperia  stood  unheeding  the  strange  scene, 
But  beamed  on  the  expectant  multitude 
As  pure  as  unpolluted  as  a  saint. 
Admiring  murmurs  rose  upon  the  air, 
While  some,  conscious  of  the  conspiracy 
Of  Llamia,  whispered  condemning  her, — 
But  not  aloud.    At'  last  the  hideous  form 
Of  Llamia's  foul  son  appeared  there. 
And  she  with  strange  and  fascinating  voice 
Allowed  the'silver  ripple  of  her  words 
To  break  over  and  all  around  the  throng  : 
"Dear  friends,  to  fill  an  unforgotten  pledge. 
More  dear  because  of  the  consent  and  love 
Of  those  who  are  its  subjects,  we  have  come, 
To  witness  its  bright  consummation  here. 
The  nuptials  of  these  children,  dear  as  life. 
And  suited  by  all  those  high  attributes 


LLAMIA, 


To  bear  each  other  lovmg  company, 
Through  all  the  pilgrimage  of  earthly  life. 
That  you  rejoice  in  this  delightful  hour, 
And  that  we  lay  our  offerings  of  love 
Upon  a  shrine  of  purest  joy, 
I  well  believe/'  —  Hesperia  arose. 
In  the  full  glory  of  her  womanhood. 
With  calmness  like  the  surface  of  the  sea. 
Suppressing  all  its  hidden  heaving  throes, 
She  waited  till  the  multitude  had  spent 
The  fury  of  their  loud  acclaim  of  joy. 
Then  in  a  voice  as  musical  and  sweet 
As  ringing  of  soft  silver  vesper-bells. 
Yet  clear  and  firm  as  the  deep  voice  of  truth, — 
"  The  words  of  Llamia  are  false,''  she  said  ] 
"No  promise  holds  me.    I  have  made  no  vow, 
Nor  given  my  consent  to  aught  that  she 
Declares.    Sooner  than  be,  or  do,  or  think 
The  thing  she  wishes,  I  will  wear  the  rags 
Of  endless  toil  or  poverty,  or  die,  — 
For  death  would  be  the  sweetest  boon  of  all. 
No  part  of  her,  nor  of  this  foulest  one 
She  names  her  son,  can  ever  other  be 
Than  loathsome  to  my  very  thought  and  sense. 
Yet,  by  my  mother's  sacred  name,  and  him 
Who  gave  me  life,  —  by  all  the  silent  woe 
Suffered  for  years,  that  I  might  still  obey 
Her  sweet  behest,  —  by  the  great  wrong  ye  do, 
Who  witnessing  her  death,  and  my  sad  life. 
Consent  and  aid  in  this  foul  dreadful  plot 
To  rob  me  of  my  purity  and  truth 
And  the  high  heritage  they  left  for  me, — 


86 


HESPERIA. 


For  me  and  you  if  ye  would  follow  them, — 
By  these,  and  highest  heaven,  I  humbly  swear 
That  I  from  Llamia  am  ever  free  \ 
And  urge  you,  for  your  own  and  for  the  sake 
Of  generations  that  shall  come,  to  leave  her  now." 
Wildest  confusion,  scenes  of  violence, 
Followed  full  fast,  and  Llamia,  with  eyes 
Glaring  like  serpents,  hissed  on  her  these  words,  — 
*'For  this  thou*lt  perish,  or  go  hated,  loathed, 
Down,  down  to  infamy  and  endless  shame  1 
And  then  she  rallied  all  her  flattering  hosts. 
Who  thronging  round  her  with  wild  shouts  and  cheers- 
Urged  her  to  smite  the  fair  bright  maiden  down. 
Hesperia  walked  fearlessly  among 
The  moving  mass  that  surged  and  swelled  around. 
A  small  devoted  band  gathered  quite  near. 
The  murmuring  multitude  moved  slowly  by. 
And  mid  the  gathering  gloom  a  loved  light. 
The  glory  of  a  matchless  countenance. 
Fell  on  her,  hiding  her  from  the  dark  night. 

-  '  V. 

THE  SPELL. 

At  last  Llamia  thought  of  the  foul  spell, 
And  even  yet  believed  her  subtle  power 
Could  in  a  measure  reach  Hesperia. 
But  when  could  she  behold  her  ?   All  in  vain 
Were  her  most  potent  powers,  unless  she 
Could  fasten  upon  her  those  baleful  eyes. 
She  sought  her  in  the  highways  and  the  streets, 
Proclaiming  as  she  went  the  maiden's  shame, 


LLAMIA. 


And  hinting  at  some  horrid  mystery 

That  she  could,  if  she  would,  reveal, 

Branding  that  fair  and  spotless  loveliness 

As  wanton,  saying,  "  Thus  I  sought  to  save 

Her  from  the  tendencies  of  her  own  soul 

By  honorable  alliance  with  my  name  ; 

And  now  I  spurn  her,  for  she  is  no  more 

Worthy  the  honor  of  so  high  a  place 

As  the  escutcheon  of  our  house  would  give." 

Then  madly  did  the  people  follow  her,  — 

Llamia,  beautiful  and  winning  still, 

Holding  the  populace  in  her  fair  thrall, 

And  alternately  swaying  with  her  son 

The  multitude  to  long  and  loud  applause. 

Once,  when  she  thus  went  forth,  a  vestal  throng 

Of  maidens,  robed  in  white,  came  up  the  street 

Chanting  sweet  virgin  hymns  and  bearing  palms, 

Led  by  a  maiden  peerless  as  a  queen. 

She  well  could  guess  no  other  form  could  wear 

A  grace  so  heavenly,  so  mild  and  high ; 

And  turning  as  they  passed,  fastened  again 

Those  wondrous  eyes  full  on  the  maiden's  face. 

She  paused,  her  song  unsung,  turned  deadly  pale, 

And  reeling,  would  have  fallen  to  the  ground. 

Llamia  still  chained  her  with  the  subtle  glance, 

And  held  her  safe  a  captive  in  her  arms. 

To  faint  with  famine  that  no  food  can  fill, 

To  parch  with  thirst  no  cooling  drops  can  quench, 

To  mark  the  slow  and  sluggish  life-tides  drop 

Reluctantly  from  their  stagnated  source, 

To  wander  like  the  weary,  waning  moon, 


O'er  :hr  dtse:-:e£  ti::'r..  :~:.-i:ig  no  b::n 
Tj;::  :^  r  :         -    -  a  void  i":e-5e, 

:    :'r    :"    e  estibule 
0:        y:-::-.r  :^ti::       -         fair  hopes  --.iii  played  j 


Nor  aur  :       :ee:es:  h  f 

D'57-.:::         t/:-:::!  STrei  :-.       y \v.  : 

7:   ::.v  l  7;'-  :^::"^e5?.  r.ir.eless       -.r.  ^  ".Trm 

:     :  ::         t  :r  crush, 

A   1  e  :    :  n  life,  whose  horri  i  s  t      :  .  r  e 

Is  3...  : l  e  s:2Zi3aiit  stifling  a:    :  s     ^  e 

A"~  7::  r:  :s  clin^  feebly  to  :.\z  ::        r  :r::.7i, 

L  :e  :  :      :  :ered  sails  s  u  ;^  usr  -  s/ 

i  :-.:.f:  on  a  deseriei  sea. — 

S-rh     IS  7:e  s  ^  1  :       Llamia's  vile  heart 


T: 


Ye:  ever.  :7i:ure  of  her  love!  :7:e 

W:re  i's  i : : ; s: :  ::".e  :1  reauty,  and  :. 

C7  5 :  :r. -.^  /.i7  ;  . -.  ^e  seemed  i  zr:..:^  :.:r:e. — 

Tre      r  :    p  :/  ::  e  spirit's  prayer. 

:      55         e      ;:s  ^ere  rounded  still. 


LLAMIA. 


Of  dread  decay  touched  not  her  perfect  form, 

And  near  the  heart  the  surface  was  quite  warm. 

Within,  the  potent  powers  of  the  soul 

Still  held  their  wonted  and  supreme  control, 

Kindling  the  thought  and  spirit  to  a  glow, 

Till,  like  a  flame  out  of  the  drifted  snow. 

Like  a  white  lily,  with  its  golden  cup. 

That  all  the  waters  and  the  winds  bear  up,  — 

Like  a  swift  butterfly  with  Iris  wings, 

That  from  its  sheath  of  mouldering  clay  upsprings, 

Like  perfume  floating  upward  from  the  flower. 

Bearing  sweet  music  on  its  winged  power. 

As  clouds  are  lifted  to  the  rising  sun. 

As  the  soul  rises  to  the  Eternal  One, — 

Her  spirit  rose  from  the  cold  sleeping  clay, 

A  thing  of  life  and  beauty  like  the  day. 

Then  one  supreme  and  dread  omnipotence 

Pervaded  her,  usurping  every  sense. 

Uplifting  and  enfolding  with  a  love 

More  mighty  than  the  wings  of  death  to  move. 

A  new  sensation  full  of  wondrous  power,  • 

Thrilled,  filled  her  being  in  that  charmed  hour. 

Sandaled  with  swiftest  thought  she  moved  along 

To  the  triumphant  measure  of  a  song 

That  from  her  own  pulsations  seemed  to  float. 

E'en  as  the  skylark  moves  to  his  own  note. 

She  saw  her  mountain  home,  it  seemed  to  be 

A  portion  of  herself,  as  wild  as  free ; 

And  then,  before  the  thought  became  a  word. 

The  vibrant  atmosphere  around  was  stirred, 

And  wave  on  wave  of  rapture  o'er  her  moved, 

Till  she  stood  face  to  face  with  those  beloved. 


90 


HESPERIA. 


The  glory  of  that  meeting  none  could  guess, — 
As  though  a  traveller  through  the  wilderness 
Had,  wandering,  lost  his  way  and  sank  in  sleep, 
While  haunting  terrors  their  dread  watch  did  keep 
Of  conscious,  desolate,  and  drear  despair, 
And  then  across  his  \^sion  shone  a  fair 
Wild  dream  of  happiness,  and  home  and  love, — 
So  now  this  vision  seen:e ::o  bright  to  prove 
Reality,  but  lost  in  swee:  :  :  tr-e 
Their  spirits  mutually  c::,  :  r  :t  rse 
The  scenes  that  they  h:.     :  :,5  5r:i  s:":e  that  sad  day 
Whe't  ^:e  'z'^.  '-\\\'~,  --^^^ 
Titer:  the  s  vert  :tt:::iT:t  zi  titit  fond  name, — 

"Miht-  -i  t";ie:t::,  h'.  I  .t-ve  z--:zi  to  be 
As  th:t:  t.:t.    A:tf  :i:  the  het.d  thus  go  free 
T:  ntht^ie  ':tt:f  t.te  5:e:t-5  :ei:ved  on  earth? 

Entirhe:.  as  ::t  ht;  :;■  days  of  y::e 
"Yes.  i:ve."  tite  :tt::hrr  said,  "  th:  ^.rht  :::eth  not 
The  cit  litre  tit  it  :ttr:t  call  death,  i-  i:  .:t  the  lot 

Ever  aspires,  through  paths  of  constant  change. 
To  higher  planes  of  being ;  but  the  soul 
In  a  vast  orbit  of  its  own  shall  roll, 

Divided  by  matter  and  mortal  breath, 

United  at  the  ia  t  :    shaft  of  death, 

Thou  meetest  a^  ia    :i  it.  but  not  yet 

Thy  lovely  nt:  tai  tr  a  ir  to  forget; 

That  sleeaia^  f;:  :t  atas:  i:  e  thv  dwelling-place, 

Our  love  hatit  ara  at  taee  tit  hter  for  a  space, 

As  the  sun's  rays  absorb  the  cr}*stal  rain 


LLAMTA, 


91 


Whose  pearly  drops  descend  to  earth  again  \ 

We  could  not  hold  thee  from  thy  destiny, 

We  would  not,  for  it  is  of  eternity, 

Hesperia."     O,  'twere  sweet  aye  to  dwell 

Conscious  of  sights  and  scenes  beloved  so  well ; 

Ever  to  feel  your  arms  around  me  twine, 

Your  hearts  beat  close  in  unison  with  mine, 

And  see  from  this  proud  height,  as  day  retires, 

The  mountain  brow  all  crowned  with  crimson  fires. 

The  soul  of  every  flower,  shrub,  and  tree, 

I  can  behold  sparkling  with  ecstasy."  — 

Yes,  it  were  sweet  our  converse  here  to  hold, 

Till  time  shall  pass  and  the  young  world  grow  old, 

But  this  we  cannot ;  nor  must  we  delay 

The  purpose  of  this  strange  but  blissful  stay. 

Nor  can  we  fold  thee  in  our  loved  embrace 

To  shield  thee,  but  'tis  given  us  to  trace 

Thy  pathway  through  the  world,  and  thou  mayst  see 

All  thy  young  feet  have  passed,  what  is  to  be, 

For  knowing  this,  will  give  thy  spirit  strength 

To  battle  with  the  stream,  whose  serpent  length 

Enwinds  itself  around  thee  to  destroy  ;  • 

And,  when  the  victory  is  won,  what  joy 

Awaits  thee  in  another  dear  delight, 

Dawns  on  thy  spirit  through  its  earthly  night." 

Then,  on  her  mental  vision  swiftly  fell 

Such  scenes  as  here  are  traced  ;  their  surging  swell 

Was  like  the  billows  of  the  ocean's  breast,  — 

First  bursting  white,  sinking  to  green  blue  rest, 

They  rose  and  fell :  whether  she  saw  or  heard, 

Or  felt  each  scene,  or  the  slow  spoken  word 

Of  fate  was  woven  into  woof  of  song 


92 


HESPERIA. 


By  poet  Calios,  does  not  belong 
To  this  dull  page  to  know.    The  fragments  came 
Like  star-flakes,  or  like  broken  films  of  flame, 
Varied  and  manifold  as  heaven's  rays  : 
Now  full  of  splendor  as  the  summer  days, 
Now  full  of  darkness  as  the  night  of  woe, 
Just  as  her  light  shone  bright  or  dim  below  ; 
Sometimes  'twas  like  the  song  by  seraphs  sung 
In  heaven  when  the  hills  and  valleys  rung 
With  loud  acclaim  of  her  sweet  loveliness  ; 
Then  'twas  the  bitter  bread  of  deep  distress.  * 
But  over  all  a  calm,  intense,  serene, 
Shone  through  her  spirit,  as  though  she  had  seen 
All  that  the  world  can  give  of  its  despair, 
And  waited  for  the  joy  to  crown  her  there. 


PART  IV. 
CRESCENTIA. 


FREDERICK  DOUGLASS, 
CHAMPION  OF  FREEDOM,  AND  TO  THE  SOUTHERN  LOYALIST 


CRESCENTIA. 
I. 

UNDER  a  blue  and  purpled  dome  of  skies, 
As  clear  as  sapphire  walks  of  paradise, 
Lighted  with  lingering  rays  of  tropic  moons, 
Whose  golden  gondolas  meet  the  lagoons, 
And  stars,  as  tender  as  the  eyes  of  love. 
Look  down  in  living  splendor  from  above. 
The  torrent  of  a  mighty  river  pours 
Its  flood  of  waters  over  the  low  shores, 
Save  where,  resisted  by  the  strong  levee. 
The  tide  is  pressed  far  out  into  the  sea. 
Bearing  the  debris  of  a  thousand  streams, — 
Its  turbid  waters  with  the  ocean  gleams  : 
The  low  land  stretches  in  far  slopes  away. 
Or  girds  with  highlands  the  translucent  bay. 
Bayous  like  streets  of  liquid  ebony 
O'erarched  by  solemn  pine  and  cypress  tree. 
Or  that  rare  live-oak,  wondrously  hung 
With  trailing  mosses,  like  gray  tresses  flung 
From  a  young  maiden's  brow ;  those  dim  dark  aisles 
Within  whose  recesses  the  sun  ne'er  smiles. 
Like  old  cathedral  vaults  o'ergrown  with  moss 
Whose  doorway  not  one  ray  of  light  can  cross,  — 
But  sacred  for  its  silence  and  its  prayer. 
The  ghostly  anthems  ever  chanted  there  — 


96  ^£S^£:ria. 

Thjse  y-viligh:  ibresrs  h2.u:::ed  by  :-:e  '.vind 

Or  sr.i::bL  of  prayer  froni  :be  eirrh's  dreaming  mind. 

Obedie:.:  ::  nature's  kindly  caii, 

Beau:y  ycrcr.nial  reigns  o'er  all  : 


Unfadiog  verdure  greets  the  -  -  :f  :n:rn. 

Unfailing  loveliness  the  fiei  i.      :   .  : 

From  silent  and  im  c  e  :  e :  r  a    r     :    r  5 

Float  winged  perfu    r  s  : :  r  d :   er^s  : 

Proud  trees  their  b  a  :        d  r  :  :a  ;-ase:-.  di 

Freighted  v::d  ve5:a     a:  -  ::  ~\\z  s::  a,; 

White  bridai  b    55 :a:s     a  sa  :  :b   a^  :  fa  -s 

Amid  the  ^  ;  dira  dniit  of  oraage  graves  ; 

Graceful  :ar  :a  i  acacia  and  :air. 

Loosens        b  :  ais  like  curis  cb  gaidea  hair;' 

Magnolia,  a:i  ^sa:  a:aiata  rarra. 

Arrayed  ia  rraa     :  :-s  ::  r:  ai  greea. 

Bearing  vria;  a  a^r  a.:a  :i   vix^a  sa:  v 

Ambrosial  at   s     a     a:-  a:a-  :aa  aa:  v; 

Rings  ou:  :ar  a  :  a^^a. aaa:r  s  scari^:  :eii. — 

Tae  g:idea  ariraise  a:  its  fruit  to  teii  ; 

Sii  er  a  re  d:   ers  aierce  the  atmosphere 

^ '    a  a  as  :  a    daa  es  delicately  clear; 

r  d  aa  aaa  a  d    a  ad  :de  ravished  sense, 

P  a  i  e  s : : :  ;y    a  s  a  .  e  a  :  a  s  a  assion  intense  ; 

Ba:  aaaaa  a' "a;  ::'aer  :o  oo.ver  :s  heard 
Tae     a:a         a  :iLngs  of  the  mocking  bird  ; 


CRESCENTIA. 


And  when  each  sight  and  sound  of  day  is  done, 

Peerless,  the  nightingale  sings  all  alone  : 

But  if  nature  hath  lavished  all  her  charms 

Beneath  these  fairest  skies,  if  the  sun  warms 

Her  beauty  into  shapes  of  loveliness 

Elsewhere  unknown,  here  too  the  fearful  stress 

Of  compensation  holds  an  equal  sway  ; 

For  hiding,  lurking  in  each  lovely  bay,  * 

Breathing  contagion  on  the  summer  air, 

The  dread  miasma  hovers  everywhere. 

Huge  reptiles  and  unlovely  serpents  start 

From  marsh  and  bayou  with  their  venomed  dart ; 

Minute  but  poisonous  insects  hidden  hold 

High  carnival  amid  those  fields  of  gold. 

Oppressive  atmospheres  sicken  the  sense 

With  heated  fever-fires  of  violence  ; 

The  poison  passions,  unhallowed  desires. 

Consume  with  their  wild  and  unlawful  fires ; 

Crimes,  rank  and  noxious,  spring  to  sudden  birth, 

Too  horrible  for  other  climes  of  earth ; 

And  a  low  mist  of  moral  pestilence 

Breeds  spawn  of  venomed  reptiles,  recompense 

For  all  the  beauty  of  this  wondrous  place, 

Veiling  corruption  with  a  lovely  face. 

Crescentia,  thou  fairest  foulest  one, 
Of  all  whom  Llamia  has  called  her  own, — 
Named  for  the  starry  vestal  queen  of  night. 
No  wonder  at  the  thought  that  in  her  height 
Dian  turned  pale  for  that  great  nameless  wrong, 
Reeling  and  blind  and  mad  her  stars  among,  — 
As  like  to  her  art  thou,  as  is  the  slime 
7 


98 


HESPERIA, 


To  the  clear  crystal  fountain  in  its  prime  ; 

Or  as  the  serpent  to  the  sno\v}^  dove, 

As  all  things  loathsome  to  the  things  we  love, 

As  night  to  day,  as  woe  to  sweetest  bliss, 

As  sting  of  envy  to  the  lover's  kiss  ; 

Despair  to  joy,  winter  to  vernal  spring. 

The  dust  of  earth  to  shining  stars  that  swing 

In  space,  as  desolate  decay  to  life, 

As  forces  opposite,  whose  ceaseless  strife 

Keeps  heaven  afar,  as  Satan  unto  God;  — 

I  know  not  but  thy  poisoned  feet  have  trod 

The  darkened  paths  of  infamy  and  shame, 

Till  thou  hast  learned  no  sacred,  lovely  name. 

Perchance  thy  robes,  so  stained  with  sin  and  gore, 

Never  were  stainless  ;  never  went  before 

Thy  vision  dreams  of  innocence  and  peace 

To  bring  even  a  wish  for  a  release  ; 

Perchance  the  stifled  air  was  tainted  so 

With  moral  miasma  and  human  woe. 

Or  from  thy  birth,  and  e'er  thou  saw  the  day, 

The  chains  were  fastened  to  thee  that  held  sv/ay 

Over  thy  being,  by  -thy  mother's  sin. 

That  thou  unconsciously  didst  enter  in 

To  the  great  whirlpool  of  thy  destiny. 

Driven  by  ruling  demons  like  to  thee. 

If  so,  O  mother  nations,  pray  to  be 

Barren  :  if  beauteous  babes  can  never  see 

The  light,  the  smile  of  God's  paternity. 

From  out  thy  foul  rank  being  bursts  a  form 

Fair  as  the  light  that  greets  the  eye  of  morn, 

As  the  white  water-lily  meets  the  light. 

Lifting  its  golden  chalice  through  the  night 


CRESCENTIA. 


Until,  all  radiant  with  life  and  love, 

Its  loveliness  doth  the  dark  waters  move. 

Thi§  one,  unconscious  of  thy  sin  and  shame, 

Through  thy  dark  being  broke,  a  beauteous  flame, 

As  beautiful  as  dream  of  love  and  youth, 

The  image  bright  of  harmony  and  truth  ; 

As  radiant  as  Morning  when  she  springs, 

And  o'er  the  eastern  hills  her  glory  flings. 

He  loved  all  things  beneath  the  bending  sky. 

The  forests,  and  the  tempest  sweeping  by. 

The  insect,  and  the  birds  for  their  grand  flight  \ 

He  loved  the  day  for  work,  for  rest  the  night; 

Loving  all  beings  fortunate  and  free. 

But  chiefly  those  enslaved  and  cursed  by  thee. 

He  saw  in  these  the  image  of  high  God. 

Glad,  joyous,  free,  the  radiant  world  he  trod. 

But  upon  thee  and  Llamia  he  spoke 

One  curse  that  all  the  wondering  echoes  woke. 

n. 

ANATHEMA. 
"  Upon  this  land  so  fair,  so  deadly  fair, 
These  living  waves  of  emeraldine  light. 
Whose  bloom  and  fragrance  fill  with  ecstasy 
The  deep  voluptuous  swells  of  atmospheres. 
Until  they  pant  with  painful  pleasure  strokes, — 

Curses. 

"  Upon  these  groves,  each  hiding  some  rare  joy, 
This  wondrous  wilderness  beyond  compare, 


lO-D 


Maskui^  with  beanty  hri  : 


CRESCENTIA, 


lOI 


III. 

MARGARET. 
I. 

Fair,  fair  as  the  dawn  Crescentia  lay, 
In  her  regal  robes  like  queenly  May ; 

With  her  jeweled  hands 

And  her  river  bands, 
Like  a  crescent  crown  on  her  forehead  set, 
While  near  in  her  woe  sat  Margaret. 

II. 

Bright,  bright  as  the  sun  Crescentia  lay, 
With  her  blazing  crown  like  the  crown  of  day, 

With  her  eyes  of  fire, 

Flashing  fierce  desire. 
And  the  heart  in  which  all  fierce  passions  met, — 
But  hope  there  was  none  for  Margaret. 

III. 

Red,  red  as  the  dawn  Crescentia  lay, 
Red  with  rays  of  the  rising  king  of  day  j 

Red  her  scarlet  lips. 

Red  her  finger-tips. 
And  the  dews  on  her  cheek  were  with  red  blood  wet, 
And  pallid  and  wan  was  poor  Margaret. 

IV. 

Dark,  dark  was  the  den  where  Crescentia  lay, 
And  darker  her  purpose  to  kill  and  betray. 


HESPERIA. 


Dark,  dark  was  her  soul 

With  its  black  control ; 
While  the  foul  hosts  of  Hades  her  horrors  abet,  — 
Alas  !  would  no  aid  come  to  poor  Margaret  ? 

V. 

Foul,  foul  were  her  robes  as  Crescentia  lay, 
All  stained  with  the  blood  and  tears  of  dismay, 

With  life-blood  and  fears 

And  tortures  of  years, 
All  wrung  from  the  hearts  that  can  never  forget, 
And  foul  with  the  wrongs  brought  to  poor  Margaret. 

VI. 

Gory  red  the  place  where  Crescentia  lay. 

And  the  stagnant  air  with  death-vapors  did  play; 

And  her  heart  of  stone 

Heard  each  stifled  moan 
That  was  wafted  o'er  tower  and  tall  minaret, 
The  moaning  of  thousands  and  poor  Margaret 

VII. 

Thus  fair  and  thus  foul  Crescentia  lay 
In  her  scarlet  robes  of  sin  on  that  day. 

With  her  gor\'  hands, 

And  her  iron  bands 
On  the  neck  of  a  race  all  firmly  set,. 
On  these  and  poor  stricken  Margaret. 

VIII. 

Wrapped  in  folds  of  flame  Crescentia  lay ; 

In  her  madness  she  kindled  the  fires  that  day, 


CRESCENTIA. 


103 


But  the  voice  of  fate 

Made  her  pause  too  late, 
And  up  from  the  gulf  the  white  sails  were  set, — 
There  was  hope  in  their  speed  for  poor  Margaret. 

IX. 

And  the  ships  swept  up  where  Crescentia  lay, 
With  a  motion  and  might  no  hand  could  stay  j 

And  a  fearless  band, 

With  an  iron  hand, 
Dared  to  raise  upon  tower  and  tall  minaret 
The  banner  of  freedom  o'er  poor  Margaret. 

X. 

Then  she  passed  the  spot  where  Crescentia  lay  j 
Fled  with  fleetest  feet  on  her  fearful  way, 

To  the  noble  man 

With  a  mighty  plan, 
Saying,  "  Sire,  on  my  honor  a  price  is  set ; 
'Tis  my  father  pursues  me,  O  save  Margaret ! " 

XI. 

Out  looked  the  stern  man  where  Crescentia  lay, 
A  vision  came  o'er  him  of  one  far  away, 

Of  a  fair  home  afar, 

A  bright  morning  star. 
The  beautiful  gem  in  his  life  coronet  set, — 
And  he  tenderly  lifted  the  pale  Margaret. 

XII. 

"Dost  see  o'er  the  spot  where  Crescentia  lay 
A  banner  of  beauty  doth  flutter  and  play  t 


I04 


HESPERIA, 


By  its  blue,  white,  and  red, 

By  our  nation's  fair  dead, 
By  the  mother  who  bore  me  and  blesses  me  yet, 
I  swear  I  will  save  thee,  thou  brave  Margaret." 


PART  V. 
ATHEN  I  A. 


WENDELL  PHILLIPS, 
THE  FRIEND  OF  HUMANITY  AND  THE  MASTER  OF  ELOQUENCE. 


ATHENIA. 


I. 

WHERE  northern  skies  are  blue  with  turquoise 
light, 

And  seas  are  opalescent  in  their  glow, 

A  broad  expanse  of  waters,  pearly  pale, 

Is  held,  in  close  yet  varying  embrace. 

Between  two  rugged  arms  of  rocky  coast. 

One  stretches,  sloping,  to  the  east  and  north, 

Winding  among  rare  bays  and  harbors  calm. 

Or  suddenly,  precipitately,  turns 

On  bold  and  barren  cliffs,  where  fearful  chasms 

Repeat  the  echoes  of  the  sounding  sea. 

Until,  from  a  sharp  point  of  the  low  shore, 

Its  fingers  loosen  on  the  sandy  slope 

Laden  with  emeralds  sink  'neath  the  waves  : 

The  other  winds  in  semi-crescent  curves, 

First  south,  then  east,  in  a  long,  lingering  line, 

Between  low  shores  of  shining,  singing  sands, 

With  here  and  there  a  rocky  point  or  two. 

All  crowned  by  a  range  of  sandy  hills 

So  bleak  and  barren  that  the  stinted  pines 

And  mosses  meagre  sustenance  can  find  ; 

But  when  the  summer  ether  gives  its  blue 

To  the  bright  waves,  the  sun  his  splendid  light 

To  the  glad  earth  and  crisp,  tumultuous  sea, 


io8 


HESPERIA, 


When  waves  of  perfumed  air  from  the  warm  south 

Sweep  up  to  greet  the  eager  longing  lips 

Of  sleeping  flowers,  the  bare  and  barren  hills 

Are  filled  in  all  their  void  interstices 

With  lovely  vines  and  flowering  parasites.; 

Each  bay  and  narrow  inlet  leads  the  way 

To  some  retreat^  'mid  sheltering  rocks  and  trees, 

Where  nature  smiles  in  sweetest  loveliness, 

Unbinding  her  fair  beauties  to  the  sun, 

Whose  kisses  warm  to  life  the  dreaming  flowers, — 

Pied  wind-flowers  and  the  wild  columbine 

And  many  meek-eyed  humble  violet  : 

Here  crystal  streams  from  their  life-giving  springs 

Murmur  most  musically ;  sleeping  lakes 

Upbear  the  water-lily's  trembling  cup, 

Until  its  white  and  golden  chalice  is  o'erflowed 

With  nectar  dews  distilled  in  paradise. 

Within  this  marvelous  and  lovely  bay 

The  pale  clear  waters  image  the  blue  sky 

In  crystalline  completeness,  interspersed 

With  rocky  islands  desolate  and  lone  : 

Like  exiles,  unrepentant,  banished  hence 

By  the  stern  mother  coast  for  grievous  crimes, 

They  stand  in  solemn,  stately  solitude, 

While  waves  and  winds  and  seasons  sweep  along. 

But  chiefest  for  its  charm  and  sacredness, 

Is  one  lone  rock  upon  the  southern  arm 

Of  this  wild,  winding,  undulating  coast. 

It  is  the  haunt  of  circling  memories. 

The  home  of  ocean  sirens,  and  the  nymphs 

That  haunt  the  grottoes  in  the  caves  beneath  ; 

And  these,  arrayed  in  white  and  green  of  waves 


ATHENIA. 


109 


And  spray,  entwine  their  sinuous,  soft  limbs 

In  wondrous  harmony  to  their  wild  songs. 

Hurting  their  white  feet  ever  'gainst  its  sides 

Yet  ever  singing  in  its  solemn  praise  ; 

Here,  too,  the  winds,  their  brothers,  all  attend 

Mingling  their  voices  in  an  anthem  deep 

Of  blended  praise  and  joyous  revelry, 

Chanting  the  hymns  of  Orpheus  divine. 

Far  out  to  sea  the  mariner  can  hear 

Their  music  beating  'gainst  this  giant  rock, 

And  his  pulse  lightens  as  its  throbbings  join 

In  deep  refrain  that  sacred  symphony  : 

Or  as  the  ships  come  sweeping  grandly  in, 

Freighted  with  burdens  from  the  bursting  hearts 

Of  many  mighty  mother  nations  far,  , 

Bearing  the  exiles  of  a  thousand  lands. 

The  booming  cannon  thunders  forth  its  praise. 

The  pilot  points  with  silent  awe  and  pride 

To  this  rude  rock  ;  the  stranger  feels  his  feet 

Glow  with  desire  to  press  the  bare  brown  breast. 

The  downcast  and  oppressed  of  every  clime 

Hear  the  song  swelling  o'er  the  waste  of  waves 

And  all  their  burdens  bear  with  hopeful  hearts  ; 

The  captives  feel  their  fetters  fall,  ah  me  ! 

But  who  shall  guess  what  other  sounds  shall  come 

Of  w^oe  and  desolation  near  its  shrine. 

II. 

HYMN  TO  THE  ROCK  OF  PILGRIMS. 

Proud  Rock  of  Pilgrims,  ever  round  thy  form 
Sweep  surging  billows,  spirits  of  the  storm  ; 


110 


HESPERIA, 


The  wild,  wide  waves  beat  'gainst  thy  burdened  breast, 
Torturing  their  fair  bosoms  with  unrest ; 

The  winged  winds  waft  to  thee  from  each  clime 
The  meaning  of  a  message  all  sublime; 

But  thou,  immovable,  standest  alone,  - 
Unmindful  of  the  winds'  and  waters'  moan,  — 

Because  within  thy  bare  and  barren  breast 
The  beatings  of  a  mighty  soul  are  prest. 

The  fair,  faint  feet  of  Freedom  first  there  trod 
And  found  a  fitting  altar  for  her  God ; 

Because  strange  fires  burn  there  with  a  new  light, 
Promethean,  a  flame  in  darkest  night ; 

Because,  anew,  the  love  of  Truth  and  Faith 
Were  rescued  from  a  dark  and  dreary  death; 

Because  all  nations  'neath  the  sun  might  gaze 
Upon  thee  from  their  dim  and  distant  maze 

Of  tyranny  and  wrong,  and  say,  "Behold! 
There  is  a  miracle  of  love  untold  ; 

"Truth's  ripened  fruit  doth  grow,  and  God  is  God, 
Far  o'er  the  seas  where  Freedom's  feet  have  trod ; " 

Because  through  all  the  silent,  startled  years, 
Amid  great  sorrows,  wrongs,  tortures,  and  tears, 


ATHENIA, 


III 


Thy  light  was  quenched  not,  but  was  all  aglow 
With  flashing  flames  that  from  Truth's  altar  flow. 

Because  through  mouths  grown  sad  with  sin  and  shame, 
When  crimes  were  wrought  in  Liberty's  sweet  name, 

And  in  Religion's,  she  too,  sad  and  wan, 
Gazed  through  her  tears  thy  glowing  light  upon  \ 

Because  across  this  lingering  lapse  of  woe. 
Slavery's  wrongs,  war's  bitter,  bloody  throe. 

Thy  name,  held  sacred  for  the  seed  once  sown 
Upon  thy  bosom,  for  the  fruit  once  grown  ; 

Ripened  from  blood  and  tears  that  fell  on  thee, 
Shall  golden  grow  again  for  Liberty. 

O,  rock  of  Freedom!  destined  e'er  to  be 
A  light  to  guide  man  to  Eternity,  — 

A  hint  of  that  unknown  and  nameless  shore, 
Round  which  the  Stygian  waters  evermore 

Beat  with  the  burdened  billows  of  the  souls 
That  seek  a  portal  to  those  higher  goals,  — 

Forever  and  forever  shall  the  sea 

And  winds,  all  intertwined,  sweep  over  thee  j 

Forever  and  forever  shall  thy  fires 
Consume  all  sordid,  worldly,  low  desires ; 


112 


HESPERIA. 


Forever  and  forever  shall  God's  hand 

Uphold  thee,  and  through  thee  this  sacred  land. 

III. 

Within  the  inmost  harbor  of  this  bay, 

Where  ocean's  green  is  blue  and  blue  is  gray, 

And  gray  is  pearly,  opalescent  white, 

Like  sheen  of  silver  clouds,  like  the  moon's  light 

'Mid  clustering  gem  isles,  with  wild  waves  wet, 

The  fairest  gem,  Athenia,  is  set : 

Pearl  sea-spray  broidered  is  her  flowing  dress. 

Like  ice  cascades  in  the  deep  wilderness,  — 

Hinting  of  summer  music  prisoned  there, 

Of  beaut}'  hidden  to  become  more  fair. 

The  belt  of  waters  girdling  her  bright  zone 

Conceals  rare  splendors  brighter  than  heaven's  own 

Fold  upon  fold  of  crisp  and  sparkling  air 

Fasten  and  fix  her  form  in  shapes  more  fair  ; 

Those  bare  and  barren,  unmaternal  breasts 

Hiding  their  love,  whose  slumbering  sweetness  rests 

Waiting  in  silent,  sombre  maiden  mood, 

The  joy  or  curse  of  matchless  motherhood. 

Impatient  Enterprise,  Necessit}', 

And  Culture,  thy  handmaidens  be. 

Plucking  the  priceless  pearls  of  even,-  zone 

To  crown  thy  brow  withal  and  call  thine  own; 

So  cold,  so  fair,  so  seeming  pure  art  thou,  — 

Thou  maiden  cit}*  with  the  sno^\y  brow, 

Thou  triune-breasted  goddess  of  the  north,  ^ 

Whence  all  the  frosted  fires  of  fame  go  forth,  — 

I'd  name  thee  Dian.  for  thou  art  as  fair, 

Wert  thou  as  pure,  as  radiant,  and  rare  ; 


ATHENIA. 


Or  were  thy  vows  sincere,  thy  life  would  shine 

Like  her  of  sweetest  ways,  St.  Catherine  ; 

The  Muses  sing  to  thee,  Cecilia  sweet 

Pours  plaintive  melodies  around  thy  feet ; 

The  Graces  win  thee,  and  their  praises  lure 

Stern  stoic  sages  —  O  wert  thou  as  pure  1 

Too  high  for  passion  and  too  cold  for  love, 

Standing  midway  between  the  earth  and  Jove, 

I  name  thee,  glorious  goddess  of  the  wise, 

Minerva  —  no,  her  hand,  though  strong  in  wars, 

Binds  no  bruised  soul  beneath  her  burnished  bars  ; 

Now  for  thy  loveliness  and  thy  great  name 

I'd  seek  to  shield  thee  from  all  sin  and  shame  ; 

Swear  thou  art  true  and  high  and  free  from  stain, 

But  for  the  panting  pulses,  full  of  pain. 

Stung  to  the  quick,  corroded  by  dull  care. 

Ground  to  their  graves,  to  keep  thee  young  and  fair. 

Thou  maiden  of  the  splendid  starlit  eye, 

I'll  tell  thee  what  thou  art  although  I  die  : 

Chaste,  yes  if  it  be  chastity  to  wear 

Sin's  wages  and  no  mark  of  sinning  bear  ; 

Religious,  if  religion  be  the  law 

By  which  to  measure  every  feeble  flaw 

In  a  poor  brother's  eye,  forgetting,  too. 

That  sins  may  sometimes  shade  our  own  eyes  through — 

Or  if  religion  be  the  narrow  gauge 

To  measure  finite  sins  with  God's  great  rage. 

And  send  the  poor  presumptuous  zealot  thence 

Who  dares  believe  in  Love's  omnipotence  ; 

Virtuous,  if  virtue  hold  her  white  robes 

Away  from  whence  the  deadly  dagger  probes 

The  hearts  of  men  to  see  if  they  are  pure. 


114 


HESPERIA. 


Though  other  virtue  might  e'en  these  endure  ; 

Kiiid,  if  the  flattering,  smooth,  proffered  word, 

Grudgingly  spoken,  be  by  kindness  stirred  j 

And  generous  and  just,  —  if  these  things  be 

A  compromise  'twixt  polished  grace  and  thee, 

By  which  to  lengthen  those  fair  tongues  of  praise. 

And  fill  with  adulation  all  thy  days  ; 

Charity  —  0  1  mark  the  splendid  line 

Of  places  wherein  thy  virtues  shine 

With  rich  endowment  by  thy  favor  given. 

The  paven  street  leading  from  thee  to  heaven. 

I  dare  accuse  thee,  Athenia,  thou 

With  robes  untarnished  and  high  regal  brow, 

Of  bearing  in  thy  breast  Llamia's  blame, 

Of  sharing  in  Crescentia's  deep  shame  ; 

Kindling  the  fires  to  quench  the  living  breath 

Of  martyrs,  hastening  them  to  dismal  death  ; 

Of  proudly  plotting  perjury  and  pains 

To  heap  the  hoarded  stores  of  greedy  gains, — 

Of  masking  from  the  searching  eye  of  light 

The  deeds  grown  baleful  in  fair  Heaven's  sight : 

Nay,  once  I  saw  thee  when  the  summer  sea 

Was  vibrant  with  the  breath  of  harmony,  — 

When  sky  met  wave,  and  waves  met  at  thy  feet, 

Bringing  all  ravishment  of  bliss  complete,  — 

When  the  o'erhanging  day  was  all  divine. 

Its  beauty  merging  melting  into  thine. 

The  sky,  the  earth,  the  sea  all  wrapt  in  thee, 

As  blends  the  soul  with  the  Eternity ; 

Upon  thy  shining  palace  domes  it  shone. 

Thy  spires  and  turrets  pierced  to  Heaven's  throne; 

Thy  bosom  hills  lay  warm  beneath  the  sun. 


A  THEN! A. 


Blending  their  threefold  splendors  into  one. 
A  hush  was  on  thee,  was  it  righteousness, 
Or  that  dread  calm,  the  sullen,  sad  portense 
Doomed  cities,  waiting  for  the  earthquake's  breath, 
Feel  ere  their  lips  close  hard  on  those  of  death  ? 
A  fate  hung  o'er  thee  ;  on  thy  garment's  hem 
Hung  tremulously  each  sea  island  gem  ; 
Thy  robes  clung  loosely  like  the  useless  sails 
Round  the  ship's  masts,  when  the  wdnd's  favor  fails  ; 
Languid  thy  limbs,  and  brown,  broad  bosom  bare  ; 
Thy  parted  lips  sucked  in  the  freighted  air  ; 
And  when  night  came  with  its  o'erhanging  gloom, 
It  seemed  to  usher  in  thy  final  doom. 

IV. 

THE  FUGITIVE. 
I. 

Hushed,  hushed  was  the  muffled  tramp  of  feet. 
Hurried  yet  stifled  on  the  street. 

No  murmurings  loud 

From  that  small,  close  crowd  ; 
They  moved  wdth  a  purpose  ne'er  felt  before, 
In  a  mighty  mass  to  yon  prison  door. 

II. 

Three  days  and  nights  had  thy  minions  held 
A  human  spirit  all  free  from  crime. 

Having  nothing  done 

Under  all  the  sun, 


Il6  HESPERIA, 

But  seek  thy  fair  face  and  Liberty, 

And  be  numbered  among  thy  sons  as  free, 

III. 

Three  days  and  thy  armed  host  have  wrung 
His  heart  from  the  hope  where  his  spirit  clung, 

'Till  it  wasted  and  died 

In  its  pain  and  pride  : 
The  sweat  of  his  agony  did  pour 
To  the  depths  of  hell  from  that  prison  door. 

IV. 

Three  days,  and  Llamia's  children  lent 
Her  slaves  to  succor  thy  dread  intent, 

And  the  demons  came,  • 

In  thy  lovely  name  ; 
But  to-night  will  the  bondman's  feet  go  free, 
Or  a  gulf  will  open  twixt  heaven  and  thee. 

V. 

On,  on  through  the  narrow,  noiseless  street ; 
'Tis  a  moment's  work,  then,  with  fleetest  feet 

Shall  his  steed  away. 

Leaving  Freedom  to  say, 
"  There  are  men  whom  the  gods  have  suffered  to  be 
So  high  that  they  scorn  even  error  and  thee." 

VI. 

'Tis  the  work  of  an  instant ;  through  court-yard  and  square, 
Shoulder  to  shoulder,  no  moment  to  spare : 

Where's  the  axe  and  stone  ? 

Is  the  brave  deed  done  I 


A  THENIA. 


117 


O  misery  !  where  was  the  perfect  plan 

Linking  deeds  with  the  thought  that  would  rescue  a  man  ? 

VII. 

There  were  men  mighty  enough  to  move 

A  nation  to  goodness,  thy  cold  heart  to  love ; 

There  were  clear,  calm  eyes, 

Like  the  crystal  skies  \ 
There  were  lips  as  firm  as  the  lips  of  death, 
Hearts  that  could  never  swerve  in  their  latest  breath. 

Vlil. 

But  alas !  firm  looks  could  not  serve  their  hands. 
Their  hearts  were  strong  but  stronger  the  bands 

Of  the  minions  of  might, 

Sweeping  up  left  and  right,  — 
^Till  the  brave  group  were  scattered,  the  rescue  not  won, 
With  nothing  to  cheer  them  but  good  deeds  undone. 

IX. 

Back,  back  to  the  chains,  the  scourge,  and  the  lash, 
The  victim  was  hurried  ;  'mid  glitter  and  flash 

Were  the  murmurings  heard 

Of  God's  unspoken  word  : 
"  For  this,  Athenia,  and  thy  years  of  sin. 
The  full  vengeance  of  justice  thou  surely  shall  win. 

X. 

"Thy  people  shall  curse  thee,  thy  maidens  despise, 
And  mothers  shall  moan  with  their  pitiful  eyes ; 

Thy  sons  shall  be  slain 

To  wipe  this  foul  stain, 


ii8 


HESPERIA, 


Thy  dread  crimes  shall  haunt  thee  like  ghosts  through 
years, 

'Till  thy  sins  are  washed  in  thy  penitent  tears." 

V. 

I  see  thee  in  thy  young  and  tender  years, 

Cradled  in  battles,  fed  on  doubts  and  fears. 

Nurtured  in  fiery  flames  of  Liberty, 

Sucking  her  red-hot  milk  to  make  thee  free  ; 

Thee  and  thy  sister  cities  circling  nigh, 

Like  groups  of  stars  in  constellated  sky, 

All  nurtured  and  sustained  by  one  supreme 

And  dread  desire,  —  Freedom's  eternal  dream. 

I  see  the  starry  few,  whose  names  are  traced 

On  thy  first  tablets  by  no  sin  defaced. 

The  founders  of  thy  temple  Liberty, 

Protectors  of  thy  spotless  chastity. 

Him  let  the  whiteness  of  thy  beauties  praise 

Who  guided  thee  in  pure  and  perfect  ways  ; 

And  him  who  planted  seeds  of  sacred  worth, 

Unsoiled,  untarnished  by  a  stain  of  earth  ; 

And  they,  the  dauntless  few,  who  valiant  stood 

Defending  thee,  their  hearts  all  just  and  good. 

Whate'er  of  immortality  is  thine. 

Is  borrowed  from  their  splendor  that  doth  shine 

Bright  as  the  day  through  the  dim  waste  of  years, 

Uplifting  thee  from  all  thy  groveling  fears  ; 

But  for  those  lion  lips  of  liquid  flame 

First  tasting  Freedom's  breath  and  lastly  Fame, 

Fallen,  like  Eden's  morning  Ludfer, 

Brighter  than  thee,  Athenia,  his  glory  were, 


ATHENIA. 


119 


But  like  to  thee,  thy  brother  and  thy  son, 

Thy  sin  and  his  were  deeply,  darkly  won. 

One  was  there  whose  high  spirit  scattered  words, 

Sun  bright  as  truth  and  cutting  as  sharp  swords, 

Who  hurled  thy  deeds  back  in  thy  burning  face 

And  dared  to  name  a  name  for  thy  disgrace  ; 

Who  planted  vineyards  where  the  slave  had  trod, 

To  yield  their  purple  heritage  up  to  God. 

And  one  who  stood  as  firm  in  his  high  state. 

Calm-eyed  as  justice,  unyielding  as  fate. 

Judging  with  judgments  borrowed  from  God's  throne  ; 

Not  for  thy  foul  sins  would  Heaven  disown 

One  spirit  nerved  within  this  common  clay, 

But  would  uplift  and  save  it  on  God's  day ;  — 

And  they,  the  younger  sons  of  Liberty, 

Who  spurned  thy  sin  fleeing  afar  from  thee. 

To  plant  the  seeds  .of  Freedom  on  a  soil 

Where  through  great  trials  and  abundant  toil 

They  yielded  harvests  to  the  reaper's  hand. 

And  crowned  with  glory  that  fair  western  land. 

I'd  name  them  all,  but  rather,  out  of  sight. 

Up  in  the  purer  air  of  God's  white  light 

I'd  leave  them,  risen  each  to  his  own  place, 

Meeting  his  deeds  and  words  there  face  to  face,  — 

Each  grown  accustomed  to  his  thought  and  thine. 

Reconciled,  cut  off  from  all  words  like  mine. 

From  praise  or  blame,  since  now  each  soul  confessed 

Stands  in  its  nakedness,  or  whitely  dressed 

By  its  white  thought,  clothed  like  the  lily  sweet, 

In  flowing  lightness  round  its  form  and  feet; 

Or  naked  and  aghast  wears  robes  of  woe 

For  deeds  undone  and  errors  worn  below, — 


I20 


HESPERIA. 


I'd  leave  them  bearing  only  the  one  word, 
That  beateth  downward  like  a  diving  bird, 
Fluttering,  falling,  filling  all  the  way 
With  somewhat  that  their  souls,  silent,  can  say  :  — 
"  For  all  the  living  that  are  named  dead, 
And  for  the  dead  possessing  life  instead  ; 
For  good  sweet  things  hidden,  kept  out  of  sight. 
And  loathsome  things  that  daily  greet  the  light ; 
For  loves  unlived  and  souls  unsatisfied. 
And  lusts  o'erlived  and  pampered  petted  pride; 
For  deeds  undone,  but  dreamed  in  a  dark  day, 
And  evil  things  that  held  their  potent  sway  ; 
For  songs  unsung,  fair  pictures  put  aside, 
To  turn  a  jest  or  point  of  pique  and  pride  ; 
For  germs  unquickened,  sleeping  soft  and  low 
Till  rank  weeds  have  their  time  to  grow  and  blow 
For  wings  unfledged,  spirits  stretching  for  flight. 
While  bats  and  ravens  cleave  the  dismal  night,  — 
For  those,  and  all  things  unreconciled,- 
Concealed,  withheld  from  every  mortal  child, 
Folded  in  mystery  or  greater  love, 
Sleeping  and  silent  like  an  unfledged  dove. 
We  say,  living  whom  ye  have  named  dead, 
We  name  them  dead  who  walk  the  earth  instead. 
And  of  the  former  things,  they  live  and  are 
Set  up  in  heaven,  like  a  sun  or  star  ; 
And  of  the  latter,  they  have  never  been  ; 
They  are  as  things  undreamed  of  and  unseen  ; 
Only  the  perfect  thought  endures  for  aye. 
All  else  has  never  been,  for  it  could  die." 


ATHENIA. 


121 


VI. 

A  silver  bird  singing  a  silver  song, 
Soaring  and  singing  all  the  hills  among ; 
Melting  in  melodies  of  matchless  measure, 
Until  the  panting  air  is  pained  with  pleasure  j 
Scattering  silver  snow-flakes  as  he  sings. 
Wreathing  with  wonders  his  wide-spreading  wings  ; 
Piercing  and  penetrating  the  pure  air 
With  diamond  darts  as  clear  as  truth  and  fair ; 
Now  moving  mightily  as  the  winds  move,  • 
Now  softly  singing  like  the  snowy  dove. 
Now  circling  all  the  hills  and  valleys  o'er, 
His  liquid  lightning-shafts  of  song  to  pour, 
Or,  surging  with  the  swelling,  heaving  sea. 
Dashing  its  waves  around  and  over  thee  ; 
Matchless  in  motion  as  the  moving  years, 
Matchless  in  harmony  as  songs  of  spheres  ; 
White  like  the  snow-drifts  or  the  white  of  heat, 
Red  with  the  morning's  red,  and  with  the  glow 
Of  floods  and  fires  and  human  tides  that  flow ; 
Red  with  the  flush  of  youth  and  sunset  rays 
Kindling  and  gleaming  o'er  the  charmed  days ; 
Patient  and  pale  with  pain,  but  not  afraid. 
Dauntless  and  daring,  free  and  undismayed  ; 
Absorbing  and  consuming  grosser  sense 
WitK  his  own  soul  the  soul  of  Eloquence. 

Athenia,  forgotten  and  forgiven 
Thy  sins,  because  the  earth  is  less  than  heaven  ; 
As  light  absorbs  and  swallows  up  the  night, 
Putting  the  phantom  darkness  to  swift  flight  j 


HESFERIA. 


As  days  absorb  the  hours,  and  the  months  days, 
And  years  usurp  the  moon^s  uncertain  ways,  — 
Ages  supplant  the  years  and  God  the  whole, 
Making  all  useful  'neath  His  great  control ; 
Washed  by  the  waves  of  the  encircling  sea 
All  sins  of  thine  that  are,  or  are  to  be, — 
As  Magdalens  are  by  the  Master  'made 
Pure,  spotless,  free,  forgiven,  unafraid,  — 
Washed  by  weaves  of  the  encircling  air. 
Thy  spirit  shall  become  all  bright  and  fair. 
Once  more  shall  thy  sweet  maiden  ways  return, 
Again  thy  vestal  altar-fires  shall  burn  ; 
The  gems  of  pearl  and  emerald  of  sea 
Shall  clasp  and  crown  and  cover  only  thee  j 
The  crown  of  stars  and  turquois  skies  shall  bend 
Above  thy  brow  and  with  thy  beauty  blend  ; 
Thy  silver  singing-bird  shall  build  his  nest 
Within  thy  purified  and  stainless  breast. 
Until,  transfigured  and  together  set, 
Ye  twain  are  one  in  Freedom's  coronet. 


BOOK  II. 
O  U  I  N  A. 


MOKETAVATA, 
"THE  SIR  PHILIP  SIDNEY  OF  THE  WEST." 


PRELUDE. 


'WAS  midsummer,  an  hour  before  the  dawn, 


X      In  the  vast  wilderness  ; 
Unbroken,  save  by  those  familiar  forms 

Which  ever  closely  press 
To  nature's  bosom  lovingly,  while  she, 

Robed  in  richest  undress, 
Waited  with  veiled  lids,  most  longingly 

For  the  sun's  beaming  eye  ; 
And  vaulted  silence,  like  a  temple  dome, 
Filled  all  the  bended  sky. 

Each  atom  of  the  earth  inanimate. 

Each  grain  of  shining  sand, 
Each  inorganic  molecule  ;  every  germ 

Struggling  to  burst  the  band 
Of  nothingness  ;  each  rock  and  hill. 

Each  rugged,  ragged  chasm. 
Each  mountain,  mighty  upheaval 

Of  earthquake's  awful  spasm  ; 
,  Each  serpent-hbre  of  each  root  and  leaf. 

Trembling  on  shrub  and  tree  ; 
Each  blade  of  grass,  each  bursting  bud  and  flower, 

Holding  in  mystery 
The  honey  dew  within  its  silent  cell  ; 
Each  crystal  drop  of  every  mountain  stream, 

Of  river,  lake,  and  sea ; 


6 


HESPERIA. 


Each  mote  basking  anear  the  charmed  light 

Of  the  glov;-worm  golden  ; 
Each  insect  fluttering  in  brief  delight, 

With  perfumed  mists  enfolden  ; 
Each  bird,  breathless  with  panting,  beating  breast, 

And  notes  all  quivering 
Within  its  downy  song-encircled  throat, 

And  eager  wondrous  wing ; 
Each  beast  and  every  creeping  crawling  thing, 

And  all  forms  animate  ; 
The  deep  pulsations  of  the  silent  air 

With  God's  breath  incarnate  ; 
Each  one  and  all  with  the  profoundest  prayer, 

Voices  of  throbbing,  —  all 
Felt  the  unconscious  spell  of  potency 

In  nature's  perfect  call  ; 
And  each  and  all  expectant  as  chaos 

In  that  great  awful  night, 
Prepared  again  for  the  great  miracle 

Of  life,  —  "  Let  there  be  light." 


PART  I. 


SHENANDOAH. 

A WISE  and  splendid  forest  king  here  reigned, 
And  ruled  supreme  and  mild ; 
Untaught  in  all  the  crimes  that  art  can  boast, 

But,  as  a  trusting  child, 
Reading  the  laws  of  nature's  book  aright, 

He  ruled  by  edicts  kind. 
Leading  his  people  by  his  strength  and  skill - 

And  gentleness  combined. 
He  was  a  type  of  all  that  manliness 

With  which  nature  endows 
Her  eldest  sons.    His  form  was  lithe  and  tall 

As  the  proud  pine-tree's  height  ; 
Erect  and  firm  he  stood  among  his  kind 

With  gentleness  and  might. 
His  courage  was  undaunted,  and  his  skill 

At  arms  or  in  the  chase. 
In  counsel  and  in  all  their  communings, 

Had  won  for  him  this  place. 
He  was  a  sire,  a  parent,  a  wise  patriarch. 

And  they,  his  children  all. 
Obedient  as  the  forest  leaves  to  the  sweet  breath 
Of  summer's  early  call. 


128 


HESPERIA. 


One  spirit  breathed  in  them  and  in  all  forms,  — 

They  were  a  part  each. 
His  beaming  eye  by  day  lighted  the  world  ; 

And  far  beyond  their  reach 
The  spirits  of  their  kin  kindled  their  fires 

Upon  the  plains  of  night, 
And  over  all  one  vast  supreme  control 

Guided  their  steps  aright. 
His  manitou  they  heard  in  all  the  sounds. 

From  thunder's  deepest  moan 
To  the  sweet  sighing  of  the  summer  breeze 

Or  night-bird's  mournful  tone  ; 
They  saw  His  form  in  every  shape  that  lives,  — 

From  the  blue  bending  sky, 
With  its  broad  belt  of  golden  flashing  stars, 

To  the  winged  butterfly. 
Heard^  saw,  and  felt,  nor  sought  to  know 

The  monstrous  lies  of  faith. 
But  with  a  love  and  trust  surpassing  all 

They  feared  nor  life  nor  death". 
O,  could  we  see  with  their  glad  eyes,  and  hear 

With  undiscordant  ears. 
Their  patience,  gentleness,  and  truth 

Would  mock  our  idle  fears. 

II. 

OUINA. 

Thus  lived  he,  blessed  and  beloved  by  all 

On  whom  his  wisdom  shone. 
But  chiefly  blessed  by  one  rare  being  bright, 

Who  lived  for  him  alone. 


OUINA. 


For  him  unfolded  day  by  day  a  sweet 

And  beautiful  wildifrflower  ; 
Beautiful,  is  the  snow-white  lily  fair 

Bending  above  the  stream, 
Or  the  bright  swan  upon  the  crested  wave, 

Or  the  moon's  silver  beam  ? 
Is  the  light  fawn  graceful,  gentle,  and  kind 

Or  the  wild  warbler  free  ? 
Is  morning  lovely,  tripping  o'er  the  hills 

With  all  her  witchery, 
Her  wealth  of  starry  flowers  strewing  the  plain, 

Her  golden  flowing  hair? 
Or  evening,  with  her  dark  and  braided  locks, 

And  crown  of  jewels  rare  ? 
More  beautiful  was  she  than  all  the  shapes 

Beneath  the  bending  sky  ; 
More  beautiful  than  all  the  thoughts  of  heaven 

To  the  proud  chieftain's  eye. 
One  shadow  hovered  ever  round  his  way. 

And  brooded  o'er  his  heart. 
Haunting  his  footsteps,  like  a  spectre  grim, 

Refusing  to  depart,  — 
The  memory  of  a  grief  so  strange  and  wild 

In  its  deep  mystery. 
It  seemed  the  echo  of  some  mournful  dream, 

Or  taunting  memory. 
His  child,  his  daughter,  pure  as  any  pearl, 

Was  thus  to  his  heart  given. 

CLIONA. 


He  wandered  with  his  people  near  the  sea, 
Some  hundred  leagues  or  more, 
9 


130 


HESPERIA, 


To  pay  the  distant  subjects  of  his  tribe 

A  visit,  on  the  shore 
To  gather  birds  and  fish  for  sustenance, 

Until  their  winter's  store 
Should  fill  the  forest  dark  and  wild 

With  game  as  erst  before. 
A  strange  canoe,  or  bird  with  snowy  wing, 

Was  seen  far  out  at  sea ; 
None  knew  its  name,  indeed,  it  seemed  a  thing 

Made  in  eternity,  — 
A  manitou  of  might  sent  from  above. 

By  the  all-potent  Mind ; 
But  as  it  neared  the  shore  they  saw  strange  forms, 

Beings  of  their  own  kind. 
That  night  the  winged  spirit  of  the  storm, 

With  all  its  power  free, 
Swept  o'er  the  land  its  grand  majestic  form, 

And  lashed  to  foam  the  sea. 
The  sail  was  seen  no  more,  the  beings  strange, 

Their  land  and  clime  unknown, 
Went  down.    One  woman,  sweet,  lovely,  and  mild, 

Who,  wrecked,  bereft,  alone, 
Rose  from  her  death-like  swoon  and  cold  sea-bed 

Of  billows  undefiled. 
To  consciousness  of  nameless  misery,  — 

Perchance  a  fate  more  wild. 
She  was  a  captive,  rescued  from  dark  death. 

To  darker  dawn  of  day. 
Not  one  of  all  the  fated  crew  were  saved ; 

She  fain  their  company 
Would  bear  across  the  Stygian  wave, 

Alas,  it  could  not  be  ! 


OUINA, 


The  chief  beheld  her  wondrous  loveliness, 

Resolved  her  love  to  win, 
Treating  her  with  the  utmost  gentleness, 

As  though  among  her  kin  : 
First  sending  women  to  attend  her  wants, 

And  bring  such  sweet  relief 
As  silent  sympathy  can  only  give 

To  those  in  deepest  grief. 
Her  dark  eyes,  heavy  with  their  load  of  tears. 

Drooped  their  long  lashes  down,  — 
The  curtains  that  obscured  the  outward  woe 

And  robbed  grief  of  its  frown. 
Her  long  dark  hair  was  braided  like  a  crown. 

To  bind  her  snowy  brow. 
By  her  new  friends.    At  last,  by  slow  degrees, 

She  cast  aside  her  woe ; 
Learned  of  their  customs,  and  their  language  spoke 

In  accents  sweet  and  low; 
Putting  her  loneliness  slowly  afar. 

As  morning  mists  arise 
Up  from  the  earth  with  snowy  mist-like  wings. 

To  nestle  in  the  skies. 
A  shadow  of  its  presence  filled  her  eye. 

And  o'er  her  lovely  face 
Lent  a  sweet  charm ;  she  gave  to  their  wild  life 

Her  ow^  bright  nameless  grace. 
Then  by  such  noble  gifts  as  one  might  bring 

To  proudest  earthly  queen. 
The  chieftain  brought  each  morn  his  offering, 

Nor  sought  his  love  to  screen  : 
Rich  gifts  of  robes  of  softest,  snowy  skins, 

Enwrought  with  wondrous  art; 


132 


HESPERIA. 


Small  moccasins  to  fit  her  daint}'  feet, 

Amulets  for  her  heart, 
Sacred  to  save  her  life  from  harm  or  pain  : 

And  all  the  plumes  of  birds 
Of  richest  dyes,  whose  notes  had  power  to  charm, 

Sweeter  than  sweetest  words. 
At  last  she  smiled  on  him  as  though  her  life 

Had  a  sealed  book  become 
Which  only  death  could  break.    He,  joyous,  bore 

Her  proudly  to  his  home. 
She  never  told  the  story  of  her  life, 

Nor  spoke  of  home  or  kin. 
But  seemed  content  to  share  his  simple  lodge, 

And  all  his  people  win 
To  some  serene  and  perfect  communion  — 

The  councils  of  the  good. 
His  nature  to  her  art  was  wedded  thus. 

Perfect,  not  understood. 
One  full  round  harvest-moon  their  lives  thus  sped,  — 

She  with  her  gentle  ways, 
Teaching  the  women  those  mysterious  arts 

She  learned  in  early  days  : 
To  fashion  garments,  to  prepare  the  food, 

To  keep  their  wigv;ams  clean,  — 
But  not  her  language ;  no,  that  was  her  own  j 

And  at  the  hour  serene 
Of  twilight,  to  the  margin  of  the  stream 

Anear  she  soft  would  go 
And  chant  a  song  of  wondrous  melody, 

In  accents  sobbino;  low  ; 
Then  with  her  tearful  face  enwreathed  in 4  smiles, 

As  though  an  angel  came, 


OUINA. 


Among  the  people  she  appeared  again, 

All  beautiful  the  same. 
One  full  round  harvest-moon  they  lived  and  loved 

For  nature  still  is  kind,  — 
She  loved  the  untaught  forester  with  all 

Her  spirit  and  her  mind. 
At  last  into  their  silent  wigwam  came 

A  pale,  sad,  stranger-guest, 
Came  uninvited,  unforbidden  there, 

And  touched  her  with  white  rest ; 
Bearing  her  spirit  to  her  own  bright  heaven, 

Or  that  fair  hunting-ground 
Where  nature's  children  meet  again  their  kin. 

Sweet  rest  her  pure  soul  found  ; 
Rest  for  her  form  beneath  the  violet  sod. 

Where,  by  her  last  request, 
A  simple  cross  above  the  mound  was  placed 

And  wild  flowers  on  her  breast. 
The  babe  was  left,  O,  sweetest  recompense,  — 

For  death  He  giveth  birth  ! 
The  rose  must  fade,  but  ever  a  new  germ 

Unfolds  from  the  warm  earth. 

OUINA. 
III. 

CHILDHOOD. 

The  morning  twilight,  tinting  all  the  sky 

With  roseate  tracery. 
Strewing  the  earth  with  starry  dew-eyed  flowers 

And  with  rare  gems  the  sea  \ 


134 


HESPERIA, 


The  vernal  breath  of  spring,  the  first  wild  flower, 

The  drift  of  orchard  blooms, 
The  bursting  of  the  violet  above 

The  grassy  mouldy  tomb ; 
The  chirping  of  young  birds,  the  wood-thrush*s  rare 

And  wondrously  wild  note, 
The  warblings  and  the  choral  carolings 

From  each  song-girdled  throat ; 
The  fragrant  breath  of  herds,  the  gamboling 

Of  white  lambs  on  the  hills  ; 
The  magic  in  the  music  murmuring 

Of  many  mountain  rills,  — 
The  first  faint  prelude  to  an  anthem  grand 

Or  matchless  symphony  : 
Like  these,  and  all  vibrations  sweet 

Of  witching  melody ; 
Like  bursting  buds  of  joy  within  the  breast 

Blooming  into  a  smile  ; 
Like  thoughts  of  love  ere  they  became  a  form 

All  sorrow  to  beguile  ; 
Like  tremblings  of  the  soul,  imprisoned  here 

Within  the  bars  of  sense. 
Longing  to  burst  from  out  the  darkened  cells 

And  find  its  recompense  : 
O,  happy  childhood !  when  the  tender  palms 

Of  eager,  wiUing  feet 
Press  all  the  paths  of  life  most  joyously. 

Treading  the  daisies  sweet. 
When  infant  lips  suck  the  warm  milk  of  life 

From  nature's  bounteous  breast ; 
And  when  low  breathing,  softest  lullabies 

Hush  them  to  sweetest  rest. 


OUINA, 

When  every  morning  wakes  the  world  anew 

To  glad  and  sweet  surprise, 
And  every  short-lived,  shadowed,  fleeting  grief 

In  rosy  slumber  dies  : 
Happy  if  lured  by  the  sweet  ravishment 

Of  the  long  summer  hours. 
Drinking  the  nectar  of  her  cool  content, 

Within  the  sheltered  bowers. 
Ouina  bright  flitted  like  any  bird 

The  vernal  trees  among. 
Luring  each  songster  from  his  cool  retreat 

With  her  wild  witching  song  ; 
Her  clear  voice  winning  with  its  mimicry 

Responses  far  and  near. 
Until  her  people  wondered  which  wild  song 

Was  hers,  which  was  most  clear. 
Lighter  than  the  swift  antelope  her  step. 

As  the  wild  hare  as  fleet. 
She  touched  the  moss  and  flowers  caressingly 

With  tiny  tender  feet. 
Her  bended  bow  was  like  the  crescent  moon, 

Sending  her  arrow  keen 
Far  toward  the  sun,  but  neve'r  to  destroy, 

Only  to  mount  serene 
And  then  return  triumphant  to  her  feet. 

Her  light  birchen  canoe 
Floated  like  the  wild  swan  beneath  her  touch. 

And  o'er  the  waters  flew 
A  thing  of  life.    Her  heart  was  far  too  kind 

An  insect's  wing  to  mar  ; 
She  wept  whene'er  the  hunter  warriors  came 

With  trophies  from  afar. 


136 


HESPERIA. 


Her  eager  feet  companioned  her  sire,  — 

A  sunbeam  round  his  way, 
Anear  the  council-fire  and  at  the  feast 

Wherever  he  must  stay. 
She  shared  his  respite  and  repose  at  night, 

His  wanderings  by  day  \ 
She  planted  vines  and  flowers  near  the  tent, 

Their  tendrils  taught  to  twine 
Above  the  door,  or,  reaching  to  some  tree, 

With  branches  to  combine. 
Thus  were  her  young  years  nurtured,  thus  her  feet 

Trod  the  sweet  paths  of  life, 
Unconscious  of  its  sharp  and  piercing  thorns. 

Or  serpent  fangs  of  strife. 

IV. 

At  last  there  came  a  wild  and  fearful  change. 

As  though  an  April  day 
Turned  suddenly  with  all  its  smiles  and  flowers 

To  winter's  drear  dismay  ! 
One  twilight  hour  she  v/andered  near  the  shore 

Of  that  bright  silver  stream, 
Where  her  sweet  mother's  form  had  passed  before, 

When  lo  !  a  startling  dream 
Or  vision  fell  upon  her  raptured  sense  ; 

A  glory  so  supreme 
That  all  the  brighaiess  of  the  day  seemed  lost 

Concentred  in  its  gleam, 
And  from  the  sunset  clouds  a  form  of  life 

Flew,  like  a  snowy  dove, 
Bending  above  her ;  a  surpassing  face 

And  eyes  of  dewy  love 


OUINA, 


Shone,  then  the  air  grew  vocal  with  the  song 

Her  mother  oft  had  sung, 
And  the  strange  mantle  of  a  trance-like  sleep 

Over  her  soul  was  flung. 
Her  people  heard  the  sound,  and  all  were  thrilled 

With  swift  presentiment. 
They  knew  the  Great  Spirit  unto  the  child 

A  messenger  had  sent,  — 
Whether  of  death  or  famine,  pestilence 

Or  war,  they  could  not  know ; 
But  waited  till  Ouina  might  awake. 

None  near  her  form  did  go. 
But  sat  aloof,  expectant  full  of  awe, 

Until  the  silver  bow 
Of  the  white  mother  of  the  months  had  passed 

The  western  verge  below ; 
Then  the  child  came  as  pale  as  the  pale  dream 

Of  fear  which  haunted  them  ; 
A  halo  shone  around  her  fair  young  brow 

Down  to  the  fringed  hem 
Of  her  bright  robe  ;  and  straightway  to  her  sire 

She  walked  with  steady  tread 
Bearing  a  message  full  of  deep  import, — 

A  warning  from  the  dead. 
Thus  spake  she,  with  clear  unreluctant  tones, 

While  her  sire  bowed  his  head  :  — 
"  Across  the  stream  where  I  have  wandered  oft, 

To  gather  the  wild  flowers, 
I  heard  a  voice  like  the  winds  rustling 

Among  the  leafy  bowers  ; 
And  then  I  saw  a  form  so  beautiful 

That  everything  grew  fair. 


138  HESPERIA. 

And  soon  a  sound,  unlike  any  bird's  song, 

Floated  upon  the  air. 
The  face  that  I  beheld  was  like  my  own, 

IVe  seen  it  in  the  stream  ; 
I  knew  it  was  my  mother's  voice  I  heard, 

And  not  an  idle  dream. 
1  fell  into  a  sleep  and  saw  a  cloud 

Arising  in  the  west ; 
When  it  came  near  it  seemed  a  mighty  host 

Of  w^arriors  ;  each  breast 
Was  bared,  and  painted  eagles'  plumes 

Were  on  each  brow,  and  bows 
Were  drawn,  while  quivering  arrows  keen 

And  clubs  sent  fearful  blows 
Among  your  people.    You  went  forth  in  might. 

To  conquer  and  to  slay  ; 
But  then  I  'saw  your  bravest  people  fall. 

And  some  were  borne  away. 
That  mighty  chief  ruled  o'er  the  land  now  yours 

And  you  found  no  relief 
From  want  and  woe  and  all  that  brings  despair. 

Or  bows  the  soul  with  grief. 
Full  soon  another  and  a  darker  cloud 

Arose,  where  the  clear  eye 
Of  the  Great  Spirit  looks  upon  the  world. 

Far  in  the  eastern  sky,  — 
A  cloud  like  a  white  bird  borne  on  the  wind. 

And  flying  o'er  the  sea ; 
Another  and  another  came,  until 

There  seemed  at  last  to  be 
As  many  as  the  flocks  of  birds  that  fly 

Each  year  above  our  home. 


OUINA,  ^  139 

They  bore  strange  people  with  their  snowy  wings, 

With  faces  like  my  own. 
Then  saw  I  all  your  broken,  scattered  tribes 

Fleeing,  with  footsteps  fast, 
A  mighty  warrior  upon  their  trail, 

And  you,  dear  sire,  at  last. 
In  sorrow  and  despair,  perish  with  those 

Who  clung  all  lovingly. 
And  would  not  leave  you  till  the  latest  hope 

Had  faded  swift  away. 
At  last  the  western  mountains  hid  their  forms 

From  my  bewildered  sight  ; 
I  thought  they  must  have  gone  to  that  bright  world. 

The  hunting-grounds  of  light. 
Before  one  harvest-moon  has  come  and  gone. 

The  first  cloud  will  arise  ; 
A  mighty  western  chieftain  comes  to  claim 

One,  who,  within  the  skies, 
Treads  now  a  brighter  path  than  you  could  find. 

Though  yours  were  paved  with  flowers  ; 
Her  wondrous  beauty  he  hath  learned,  and  comes 

To  bear  her  to  his  bowers. 
And  after  many  winter  snows  shall  pass 

Those  white  birds  o'er  the  water 
Will  bring  the  people  with  the  pale  white  face  ; 

And  you,  and  I  your  daughter. 
Will  dwell  with  Manitou  in  that  bright  home 

Where  all  our  loved  ones  are. 
This,  mighty  sire,  was  all  I  saw  and  heard.'' 

Just  then  a  falling  star 
Sped  like  an  arrow  to  the  western  verge : 

Ouina  sought  her  bed 


4 


140  HESPERIA. 

Of  softest  furs,  her  sire  in  silence  sat 

As  though  his  ghost  had  fled. 
The  morning  dawned,  and  still  the  chieftain's  form 

Was  moveless  as  before  ; 
His  people  dared  not  break  his  silence  grim, 

Nor  near  his  wigwam  door. 
Ouina,  too,  they  shunned,  and  whispered  low, 

And  far  apart  they  sate. 
While  she  unconscious  of  their  mutterings, 

Beheld  her  sire,  thus  late 
Motionless,  as  she  had  left  him  when  the  eyes 

Of  spirits  o'er  them  shone. 
Yet  she  forbore  to  break  the  spell  of  thought. 

But  wandered  forth  alone 
To  gather  wild  honey  for  food,  and  float 

Adown  the  shining  stream, 
Or  chase  the  squirrel  to  his  leafy  haunt. 

Or  bask  in  the  bright  beam 
Of  day  ;  yet  evermore  a  vague,  sad,  strange, 

And  wild  presentiment, 
Like  memory  of  some  forgotten  dream. 

Across  her  spirit  went. 
Then  bursting  into  one  of  those  wild  songs, 

Waking  the  warblers'  strain, 
.  She  soon  forgot  the  fleeting  haunting  fear. 

And  all  was  bright  again. 
Seven  times  the  sun  had  dipped  his  arrows  keen 

In  morning's  burning  blood, 
Seven  times  the  silent  moon  and  her  bright  train 

Had  passed  the  sunset  flood, 
When  from  his  fasting  the  proud  chief  arose 

And  called  his  council  near, 


OUINA, 


To  build  the  fire,  to  gather  all  around, 

His  utterance  to  hear. 
The  3/ounger  braves,  hunters,  and  warriors 

Sat  on  the  outer  ring, 
While  near  the  centre  were  the  sires  and  those 

Most  like  this  forest  king. 
The  women  in  their  wigwams  silently 

Prepared  the  pending  feast, 
Or  spoke  low  words  of  sobbing  sympathy 

For  Ouina ;  she,  least 
Anxious  among  them,  flitted  to  and  fro, 

But  never  sought  her  sire. 
For  well  she  knew,  though  innocent  of  wrong, 

That  she  had  waked  his  ire. 
He  rose  among  them  with  a  piercing  glance 

Of  unaccustomed  light. 
Mingled  with  stern  resolve  and  deepest  woe. 

With  brow  as  dark  as  night ; 
The  gentleness  had  vanished  from  his  face, 

But  calm  and  proud  he  stood, 
While  wave  on  wave  of  agony  broke  o'er 

His  heart  with  its  dark  flood, 
While  thus  he  spoke :  "  Brothers,  my  life  ere  lo 

Will  heavy  hang  with  years, 
But  never  has  your  chieftain  knowingly 

Yielded  to  idle  fears ; 
Never  has  counseled  war  nor  sought  for  blood, 

Save  to  defend  our  home  ; 
But  now,  alas !  a  singular  dark  change 

Over  his  soul  has  come. 
I  loved  my  daughter,  she  was  dear  to  me 

As  the  fawn  to  the  hind; 


142 


HESPERIA. 


I  wore  her  image  on  my  heart,  and  you 

Were  ever  dear  and  kind ; 
You  saw  her  beauty  and  she  was  your  queen. 

Brothers,  she  is  our  foe  ! 
The  cursed  ghosts  of  those  who  love  us  not, 

But  seek  to  bring  us  woe, 
Hold  converse  with  her;  in  sweet  guise  they  come. 

Wearing  her  mother's  form  ; 
But  well  we  know  that  'tis  their  dread  intent 

To  visit  us  with  harm. 
Seven  days  I  sought  my  kindred,  and  they  came, 

In  a  white  eagle's  eye ; 
She  brings  us  woe,  our  customs  we  must  keep : 

Brothers,  my  child  must  die !  " 

A  silence  palpable  as  speech  prevailed. 

Like  the  presaging  calm 
Before  the  tempest  bursts  its  mighty  bonds, 

Or  like  the  fitful  balm 
Of  medicine  to  deadly  pain,  and  then. 

In  stifled  tumult  wild, 
Murmurings  rose  from  the  young  warriors,  — 

They  loved  the  maiden  child. 
One  spoke,  his  words  were  like  the  cleaving  shock 

Of  thunder  in  the  sky. 
His  potent  pleadings  would  have  moved  a  stone: 

"  Why  should  the  maiden  die  ? 
Why  cut  her  off  in  all  her  tender  bloom 

Like  a  sweet  flower,  or  bird 
Before  its  pinions  are  full  fledged  to  fly,  — 

Before  its  song  is  heard  ? 
She  only  gave  you  what  her  vision  saw, 


OUINA.  143 

And  if  it  bring  us  harm, 
Then  you  can  take  her  life,  or  our  great  men 

Can  cure  her  deadly  charm." 
And  as  his  form  swayed  like  the  forest-tree, 

So  swayed  the  multitude 
Around  him  :  'twas  a  protest  wonderful 

In  its  rich  plentitude 
Of  eloquence.    He  warned  the  chieftain  sire 

Against  this  violence  ; 
He  seemed  to  catch  the  breath  of  justice,  too 

Pleading  its  recompense. 
But  he  prevailed  not,  for  the  elder  sires 

Upheld  their  chieftain  strong ; 
And  one  by  one  the  younger  warriors 

Came  up  to  join  the  throng. 
Twenty  were  chosen,  surest  in  the  hunt, 

Whose  arrows  fierce  had  stung 
The  foe,  or  snatched  the  choicest  game.    With  these 

The  eloquent  of  tongue  j 
•  The  sachems  bade  them^  ere  the  coming  feast. 

Their  arrows  to  prepare 
With  drops  distilled  by  the  most  skillful  art 

From  poison  subtle  rare. 
Seven  days  they  held  their  council  and  their  feast ; 

Ouina,  meanwhile,  free 
To  roam  at  will,  but  near  the  council-fire 

She  could  no  longer  be, 
Her  spirit  vaguely  solving  all  the  while 

Some  pending  mystery. 
The  seventh  morn  had  come,  the  same  bright  dawn 

Which  first  inspired  our  lay, — 
This  preparation  for  a  fearful  deed, 

That  waited  for  the  day. 


144  HESPERIA, 

The  chieftain  called  his  twenty  chosen  braves 

With  a  strange  signal  stroke  ; 
They  snatched  the  maiden  from  her  sweet  repose, 

She,  wondering,  awoke  ; 
They  bared  her  fair  form  and  unbound  her  hair, 

With  withes  her  hands  confined. 
And  led  her  forth  to  the  consuming  fire  ; 

Relenting,  alm.ost  kind, 
They  would  have  paused,  but  the  strong  spell  of  fe; 

The  chieftain's  deadly  eye, 
Constrained  them  to  their  fearful,  dreadful  task,  — 

They  led  her  forth  to  die ! 
Near  the  strong  trunk  of  poisonous  hemlock-tree, 

The  sacrificial  flame 
Was  kindled,  and  to  this  they  lashed  her  form ; 

Then  when  the  signal  came, 
Aimed  all  their  deadly,  poisoned,  venomed  barbs, 

When,  suddenly,  one  sprang 
Toward  the  flame,  from  out  the  murderous  ranks, 

With  voice  like  trumpet  clang.  - 
Too  late !  for  ere  the  weapons  or  the  hand 

That  would  have  saved  drew^  near, 
The  death  arrows  had  pierced  her  quivering  form. 

But  far  above  all  fear 
Her  soul  was  caught  in  a  triumphal  fire, 

A  glory  all  its  own. 
Calm  as  St.  Agnes,  and  as  beautiful, 

She  died  without  a  moan. 
Around  her  brow  the  same  transcendent  gleam, 

As  on  that  visioned  night, 
Shone,  and  the  echo  of  a  sainted  song 

Filled  the  air  with  aflright. 


OUINA, 


The  maiden  morning  dawned  supremely  fair, 

Like  an  unfolding  rose 
Upon  the  breast  of  time,  or  like  the  gates 

Which  paradise  enclose. 

V. 

The  martyrs  have  not  always  been  victims 

To  Christian  sacrifice. 
These  people,  by  the  simple  laws  of  faith, 

Knew  not  the  sophistries 
With  which  through  sacerdotal  rite  and  pomp 

Of  prelate  and  of  priest, 
The  Christian  rulers  of  the  world  have  slain 

The  greatest  and  the  least. 
This  chieftain's  ruin  was  his  pride  ;  alas ! 

Civilization  brings 
Few  heroes,  rulers,  princes,  potentates. 

Who  strive  for  higher  things  ! 
She  stones  her  prophets,  seers,  and  crucifies 

Her  saviors  in  each  age. 
The  cruel  murder  of  this  sylvan  saint 

Proves  how  alike  the  page 
Of  every  nation's  history,  if  read 

Aright,  God's  messengers. 
Derided,  persecuted,  tortured,  slain, 

Will  find  a  death  like  hers. 

10 


146 


HESPERIA. 


KANAWA. 

But  retribution,  governed  by  no  law 

We  can  evade  or  break, 
Comes  sometimes  swifter  than  the  opening  maw 

Of  the  seething  earthquake, 
And  overwhelms  the  victim  of  its  power. 

At  dawn  on  that  dread  day, 
No  trace  of  that  unhappy  chieftain's  tribe 

Remained  —  they  sped  away. 
Yet  wheresoe'er  he  wandered,  flutterings 

Of  the  wild  flitting  birds 
Seemed  mocking  him  with  face  and  form  like  hers 

And  echoing  her  words. 
Her  spirit  seemed  to  whisper  in  the  trees 

And  vanish  when  he  came, 
Then  follow  him  with  haunting  lightest  step, 

Speaking  for  aye  his  name. 
With  downcast  eye,  and  face  whose  lines  increased 

With  each  sun's  parting  ray. 
He  paused  not,  —  followed  by  his  restless  band, 

Until  one  autumn  day, 
When  the  round  harvest-moon  was  full, 

And  forests  wore  the  dye 
Of  colors  brighter  than  the  war-birds'  plumes, 

A  fierce  and  dreadful  cry 
Awoke  the  wild  beasts  in  their  lairs,  and  stirred 

Each  tree  with  trembling  fear. 
He  knew  the  warning  by  the  prophecy, 

He  knew  his  foe  was  near. 
Swifter  than  sting  of  death,  the  piercing  thought 


OUINA, 


147 


Entered  his  sinking  heart,  — 
That  his  fair  daughter  had  been  rudely  slain 

By  his  own  murderous  dart. 
But  danger  gives  no  moments  to  remorse : 

His  young  men  heard  the  call, 
And  eager  for  relief  from  idleness 

They  came  with  war-plumes  all. 
In  haste  he  held  the  council  for  the  fight. 

And,  conscious  of  his  skill, 
Soon  laughed  to  scorn  all  the  forebodings  grim,  — 

"I  will  be  greatest  still.'' 
Vain  boast ;  his  tribes  were  scattered  far  and  near, 

His  warriors,  though  brave. 
Had  long  been  idle,  yet  they  rallied  now, 

Their  chieftain's  band  to  save. 
Stealthily  and  by  slow  degrees,  the  foe 

All  silently  drew  near,  — 
It  was  the  proud  Kanawa  and  his  band. 

Yet  they  scorned  any  fear, 
But  to  the  conflict,  in  their  ow^n  wild  way. 

They  swiftly,  fiercely  came, 
And  fought  as  though  they  bore  a  charmed  life, 

In  their  proud  chieftain's  name. 

Defeated,  vanquished,  still  pursued,  the  chief 

To  the  fair  stream  now  fled. 
And  when  the  morning  brightened  o'er  the  world 

They  found  him  silent  —  dead. 
Shame,  grief,  remorse,  and  retribution  stern. 

Had  wrought  this  work  so  wild. 
And  prostrate  neath  the  sacrificial  tree 

He  sought  his  murdered  child. 


148 


HESPERIA. 


"  Let  there  be  light !  "    The  morning  shone  as  fair 

As  other  morns  had  done  ; 
The  winter's  snows  had  covered  all  the  boughs, 

And  their  white  wings  had  gone. 
The  smile  of  the  Great  Spirit  woke  again 

The  warblings  of  the  birds  ; 
From  the  forest  Ouina  spoke  once  more 

Her  sweet  and  thrilling  words  ; 
And  from  the  air  and  from  the  hunting-grounds, 

The  "  Islands  of  the  Blest/^ 
She  sang.    They  placed  her  body  and  her  sire's 

Where  they  might  sweetly  rest, 
Anear  the  music  of  the  haunted  stream, 

On  nature's  soothing  breast. 
Each  time  they  wandered  to  the  distant  sea, 

They  to  the  river  came 
To  cast  a  stone  upon  the  little  mound, 

In  sweet  Ouina's  name. 
One  hundred  harvest-moons  they  were  no  more  \ 

This  tribe  had  lost  its  home, 
And  other  stronger  chieftains  came  to  claim 

The  valley  for  their  own. 
The  mound  became  a  hill,  and  on  its  brow 

The  sighing  pine-trees  wave. 
Like  echoes  from  the  hunting-grounds  above. 

O'er  Shenandoah's  grave. 
The  valley  and  the  river  bear  his  name ; 

Ever  the  waters'  flow 
Mingle  their  music  with  the  pine-trees'  song 

In  monodies  below. 


OUINA. 


VI. 

REQUIEM  TO  OUINA. 
I. 

Sleep,  maiden,  sleep: 
All  our  flowing  and  our  going 

Shall  not  thee  harm ; 
Sunbeams  glancing,  waters  dancing, 

Thy  slumber  charm, — 
Branches  training,  interlacing 

Over  thy  bed. 

II. 

Sleep,  princess,  sleep: 
Had  we  found  thee,  we  had  bound  thee 

With  each  bright  gem  ; 
Thy  death  frowning  was  thy  crowning. 

Rare  diadem : 
So  thy  beauty  and  thy  duty 

Have  crowned  thee,  dead- 

III. 

Sleep,  Ouina,  sleep : 
The  sun's  splendor  is  more  tender 

Since  thou  art  gone. 
Stars  are  weeping,  their  watch  keeping; 

Night's  queen  alone. 
Silent  crosses  the  cool  mosses 

Where  thou  hast  trode. 


HESPERIA, 
IV. 

Wake,  beauty,  wake : 
Glow-worms  glisten,  night-birds  listen 

For  thy  voice  clear ; 
And  the  pleasance  of  thy  presence 

Ever  is  dear ; 
So  enchanting .  thy  form  haunting 

Our  still  abode. 

V. 

Wake,  spirit,  wake : 
Our  mists,  laden  to  thy  Aiden 

With  perfumes  rise 
O'er  yon  fountain  to-  the  mountain 

Of  sunset  skies  ; 
Unseen  spirit,  we  inherit 

Thy  paradise. 


INTERLUDE. 


Shall  I  give  wings  to  my  thoughts  to  go  after  thee,  O 

thou  beautiful  beloved  one ; 
To  enfold  and  mantle  thee,  keeping  from  thee  harm,  O 

thou  rare  and  golden  as  the  sun  ; 
To  scatter  the  clouds  and  mists  that  gather  o'er  thee, 

drawn  thither  by  thy  splendid  light ; 
To  sweep  all  the  dust  and  the  thorns  from  'neath  thy 

feet,  with  my  wings  of  perfect  delight? 
Shall  I  bear  thee  aloft  o'er  the  storms  that  encompass 

thee  on  my  pinions  of  gladness  ? 
Shall  I  sing  thee  a  song  that  will  charm  thy  soul  with 

its  sweet  mournful  madness, 
Whose  burden  forever  and  ever  is  only  of  thee,  till  thy 

splendid  starlit  eyes 
Melt  and  flow,  and  thy  soul  answers  my  song  with  its 

own  notes  of  rapture  and  sweet  surprise  ?  . 
Or,  Actaeon  like,  shall  I  dare  brave  all  for  thy  sake, 

thinking  only  of  thee,  my  beloved  ? 
Shall  I  be  every  form,  every  sound,  and  O,  every  joy 

with  which  thou  art  moved  ? 
Nay,  but  in  my  selfish  musing  I  must  never  forget  that 

'tis  thou,  and  not  I,  must  declare 
All  that  I  am,  or  to  be,  and  I  sit  still  and  wait  until 

thou,  transcendent  beyond  all  compare. 
Shall  meet  me  in  all^  thy  glory  with  the  crown  of  love, 

seeing  me  as  I  enraptured  turn,  — 
Beholding  thee  in  every  form  of  loveliness  that  I  see 

in  the  glow  of  the  day-stars  that  burn. 


HESPERIA, 


In  all  beautiful  sights  and  shades  of  nature's  face  I 

behold  thy  peerless  countenance ; 
No  other  face,  no  other  form,  but  thy  image  everywhere. 

If  I  move,  thou  dost  then  advance  ; 
From  the  willow  boughs  and  the  dark  of  the  crescent 

moon  I  see  thy  smile  like  a  seraph  of  light, 
And  I  know  thy  spirit  is  ever  by  my  side.  Thou,  thou 

art  the  day  and  the  night 
And  the  stars,  the  sun's  golden  and  the  white  of  moons, 

and  all  the  living  firmament ; 
Thou  meetest  me  in  the  panting  turf  beneath  my  feet, 

and  thy  kisses  in  zephyrs  are  sent ; 
I  feel  thy  caresses  on  my  warm  brow  and  loose  hair,  — 

these  are  thine  forever,  and  only  thine,  — 
And  I  fold  thee  inclosing,  embracing,  retaining  thee  ;  all 

our  limbs  and  our  thoughts  intertwine, 
O,  how  can  I  follow  thee  when  thou  art  never  away, 

but  art  mine  ever  and  always  mine  ! 


I  would  sing  a  song  of  the  Free, 

But  "  my  harp  is  hung  on  the  willows ; " 
On  the  shore  of  a  nameless  sea 

I  am  swept  by  the  aimless  billows. 
The  desolate  strand  meets  my  view. 

And  the  scourge  of  a  dread  pursuer 
Is  piercing  me  through  and  through. 

While  life's  hopes  grow  few  and  fewer. 


II. 

I  would  sing  a  song  of  the  True, 
But  my  muse  in  sad  sorrow  lingers, 


INTERLUDE, 


Having  drunk  of  the  deadly  dew 
That  has  palsied  her  snowy  fingers. 

The  false  world  is  moving  apace, 

And  the  seasons  in  coming  and  going 

Are  robbing  the  world  of  its  grace, 

And  all  its  rare  blossoms  past  blowing. 

III. 

I  would  sing  a  song  of  the  Fair, 

But  the  earth  is  full  of  strange  shadows ; 
They  startle  the  summer  air, 

And  are  haunting  the  vernal  meadows  ; 
The  grim  darkened  shadows  of  fear 

Rise  over  and  walk  with  us  mostly, 
Filling  all  the  drear  atmosphere 

With  images  ghastly  and  ghostly. 

IV. 

I  would  sing  a  song  of  pure  Joy, 

But  the  sound  of  its  horrid  mocking 
Seemeth  only  a  dread  decoy 

To  allure  into  terrors  more  shocking: 
For  we  dance  o'er  nameless  graves. 

And  our  garish  torches  of  pleasure 
Reveal  but  the  fallen  braves 

Who  join  in  our  desolate  measure. 

V. 

I  would  sing  a  song  of  the  Brave, 

The  earth's  heroes  are  sleeping  so  sweetly, 

But  I  plant  on  each  lonely  grave 
A  violet  blossoming  meekly; 


HESPERIA, 


For  the  ghosts  of  a  people  wronged 
Stalk  over  their  graves  and  under, 

And  the  world  with  their  shades  is  thronged 
To  fill  us  with  sorrow  and  wonder. 

VI. 

So  I'll  sing  no  song,  but  will  weave 

Into  broken  echoes  of  sadness 
The  glimpse  of  a  souPs  reprieve 

From  a  bitter  and  wonderful  madness,  — 
Of  a  race  that  is  passing  away. 

Like  the  trees  of  the  forest  splendid  ; 
No  voice  ever  bids  them  stay, 

No  one  grieves  when  their  life  is  ended. 


PART  II. 


LAUS  NATURA. 
Hetftcatca  its 

WALT  WHITMANy 
THE  POET  OF  NATURE. 


PRELUDE. 
I. 

THE  plumes  of  lofty  pine-trees  j 
How  they  wave  . 

The  leafy  forest  feathers  ; 

How  they  wave  : 
The  bending  birchen  branches ; 

How  they  wave : 
The  banners  of  the  beeches; 

How  they  wave : 
The  crimson  mottled  maples ; 

How  they  wave  : 
The  hemlock  and  the  cedar ; 

How  they  wave : 
The  grasses  on  the  meadows: 

How  they  wave  : 
The  golden  crested  corn-fields  ; 

How  they  wave : 
The  wings  of  the  wild  songsters ; 

How  they  wave : 

The  pinions  of  the  eagles ; 

How  they  wave  ! 

II. 

The  plumes  of  the  Great  Spirit; 

How  they  wave  : 


HESPERIA. 
Gitchie  manitou,  Creator, 

How  they  wave : 
The  Preserver  and  Destroyer, 

How  they  wave : 
Among  the  serried  war-clouds, 

How  they  wave  : 

In  tempest  and  in  thunder. 

How  they  wave : 
In  lightning  and  in  whirlwind. 

How  they  wave : 

Bending  above  the  forest, 

How  they  wave : 
Reaching  from  earth  to  Heaven, 

How  they  wave: 

To  Islands  of  the  Blessed, 

How  they  wave  : 
To  hunting-grounds  Eternal, 

How  they  wave  : 
Beyond  the  clouds  of  sunset. 

How  they  wave : 
With  red  and  purple  banners, 

How  they  wave: 
With  cloud  canoes  of  crimson 

How  they  wave: 

Bearing  souls  o'er  the  river. 

How  they  wave : 

Reaching  the  great  forever. 

How  they  wave ! 

III. 

The  war  plumes  of  the  Red-man, 

How  they  wave : 


LAUS  NATURA. 


Plucked  from  the  flying  eagles, 

How  they  wave: 
From  wings  of  dauntless  eagles, 

How  they  wave : 

From  soaring,  diving  eagles. 

How  they  wave  : 
Painted  for  their  war  bonnet, 

How  they  wave  : 
Dipped  in  the  fire  of  sunset, 

How  they  wave  : 
In  red  blood  of  their  foeman, 

How  they  wave  ! 


The  curling,  feathered  smoke  wreaths. 


IV. 


wave  : 


wave  : 


wave  : 


wave : 


wave : 


wave : 


wave  : 


wave : 


wave : 


HESPERIA. 

From  midnight  feast  and  war-dance, 

How  they  wave: 

From  Calumet  the  Peace-pipe, 

How  they  wave : 

From  wise  and  peaceful  councils. 

How  they  wave : 

Of  many  mighty  nations,  — 

How  they  wave : 

Living  so  near  to  nature, 

How  they  wave  : 

Much  closer  to  her  bosom. 

How  they  wave: 
Than  we  can  know  or  utter,  — 

How  they  wave : 
So  close  they  cannot  see  her. 

How  they  wave  : 
But  only  hear  her  heart  beat, 

How  they  wave  : 
And  feel  its  sweet  pulsations,  — 

How  they  wave  : 

Smoke  feathers  ever  rising. 

How  they  wave : 
Bearing  the  thoughts  and  praises. 

How  they  wave : 
The  hopes,  and  prayers,  and  blessings, 

How  they  wave : 

Laden  with  all  the  burdens 

How  they  wave : 

Of  nations  in  their  anguish, 

How  they  wave : 

Ascending  like  a  spirit, 

How  they  wave : 


LAUS  NATURA, 


Upwa^rd  and  outward  ever, 

How  they  wave 
Lost  in  the  mists  and  shadows, 

How  they  wave 

Restored  in  the  Hereafter. 

How  they  wave 

I. 

The  anthem  rose  and  fell 
Like  the  proud  Ocean's  swell. 
Breaking  around  her  feet 
In  fragments  pure  and  sweet ; 
Up  from  the  vales  it  poured, 
Each  syllabled  low  word, 
Like  sound  of  eagle's  wings 
When  to  the  sun  he  springs. 
Or  like  the  undertone 
Of  the  sad  sea  alone. 
Or  as  the  skylark  wings 
Its  way  from  earth  and  sings  ; 
The  viewless  air  was  filled 
With  murmurings,  which  thrilled 
And  moved  her  more  and  more  j 
A  bright  light  went  before 
Her  vision,  from  afar 
A  voice  fell  like  a  star : 
"O  maiden,  pure  as  snow, 
Fairer  than  aught  below. 
Turn  thou  thy  tender  eyes 
Downward  from  the  fair  skies ; 
Once  more  across  the  years. 


HESPERIA. 


Wide  wear}'  waste  of  woe, 
Extend  thy  thoughts  below. 
Behold  what  wrongs  were  done 
Beneath  thy  own  bright  sun, 
When  thou,  too  young  in  years 
To  know  the  dark  dread  fears 
With  which  this  bitter  wrong 
Made  thine  oppressors  strong  : 
O  loved,  O  undeliled, 
Thou  wonderful  rare  child, 
Thy  grief  hath  made  thee  strong ; 
Thy  woes,  though  drear  and  long, 
Have  clothed  thee  in  light, 
In  robes  of  spotless  white. 
Once  more  bend  thy  dear  head 
Not  o'er  thine  own  fair  dead,  — 
For  well  we  know  thine  eyes 
Seek  them  in  Paradise ; 
Thy  tears  have  laved  the  ground 
Where  blossoms  now  abound ; 
Each  mart}Ted  soul  has  risen 
Up  from  the  grave's  dim  prison, 
And  weaves  in  heaven  now 
A  chaplet  for  thy  brow. 
But  for  thine  own  dear  sake. 
Whose  heart  would  bleed  and  break 
At  unrequited  wrong. 
Listen  to  their  sad  song  ; 
They  have  beheld  thy  face 
Adorned  with  childhood's  grace. 
Ere  men  had  named  thee  fair 
They  saw,  beyond  compare, 


LAUS  NATURA. 


How  beautiful  thou  wast ; 

And  whensoe'er  they  passed 

Near  thy  sacred  abode 

With  reverent  feet  they  trode, 

Worshipping  those  unseen 

Loved  hills  where  thou  hadst  been, 

And  praised,  though  hid  from  sight, 

Those  who  were  thy  delight, 

Believing  the  still  air 

Held  them  forever  fair, 

Until  thou  didst  return. 

When  thy  young  life  was  riven 

By  sorrow's  shafts,  'twas  given 

Their  hearts  to  comfort  thee, 

Once  more  thine  eyes  to  see 

Lighted  with  smiles  as  fair 

As  sunlight  on  the  air. 

They  followed  thy  young  feet 

With  thoughts  as  sad  and  sweet 

As  flowers  o'er  the  dead, 

"  For  she  is  gone,"  they  said, 

"Where  we  can  never  go." 
They  whispered  sad  and  slow. 
With  voices  hushed  and  low. 
They  mourned  and  loved  thee  so  ; 
They  followed  thee,  with  eyes 
Tender  with  sad  surprise, 
To  thy  new  destinies. 
They  knew  thee  gentle,  kind ; 
The  wounded,  hunted  hind 
Never  came  mute  and  sore 
Before  thy  cavern  door, 


HESPERIA. 


That  thou  with  tenderness 
Didst  not  the  sufferer  dress, 
And  her  soft  sides  caress. 
Never  the  bleeding  bird 
Anear  thy  footsteps  stirred, 
That  thou  with  ready  hand 
And  touch  like  fairy's  wand- 
Didst  not  bind  up  its  wing, 
Nor  leave  till  it  would  sing. 
They  knew  this,  and  they  said, 
■  "  Whatever  comes  instead. 
She  still  will  be  a  child, 
Gentle  and  sweet  and  mild  ; 
Not  all  the  pride  of  earth 
Can  mar  her  stainless  worth." 
When  in  thy  name,  the  wars 
Hurled  cruel  shafts  of  Mars 
Against  them,  pressing  sore 
Hearts  wounded  oft  before  ] 
And  when  in  thy  sweet  name, 
The  torture  and  the  flame 
Fell  on  the  young  and  old, 
'Till  they  were  pale  and  cold  ; 
Women  and  babes  were  slain, 
Or  frozen  on  the  plain, 
Or  driven  to  the  wild, 
The  mother  and  her  child  ; 
When  fleeing,  hunted  still. 
From  river  side  and  hill. 
Betrayed  by  basest  wiles. 
By  falsehood's  venomed  smiles, 
By  treachery,  deceit, 


LA  us  NATURA. 


Defeated,  when  complete, 

Entire  ruin  prevailed. 

And  all  their  rights  assailed, 

Stolen,  filched  one  by  one 

Till  the  last  hope  was  gone ; 

Not  upon  thee  their  blame, 

The  infamy  and  shame,  — 

Not  once  against  thy  name 

Was  breathed  a  vengeful  word ; 

But  all  their  ire  was  stirred 

To  strike  the  cowards  down 

Who  robbed  thee  of  thy  crown, 

And  theirs,  for  aye  to  be 

Worn  by  the  brave  and  free,  — 

Thy  lily  crown  of  right 

Placed  on  thy  forehead  white. 

Or  when,  their  proffers  spurned, 

Like  bruised  serpents  they  turned 

And  stung  those  who  betrayed. 

Fighting  all  undismayed 

For  what  they  held  most  dear, 

Battling  without  a  fear, 

Braving  all  pain  and  death, 

Rather  than  give  one  breath 

Of  their  free  air  to  those 

Who  caused  their  nameless  woes,  — 

When  cruelty  and  wrong 

Had  made  their  vengeance  strong  ; 

When  might  had  conquered  right. 

And  retribution's  night 

Fell  on  their  foes  in  dire, 

Dread  sounds  of  battle  fire  ; 


HESPERIA. 


When  dwelling,  hamlet,  town, 
In  flames  was  hurried  down ; 
When  in  their  turn  they  gave 
No  heed  to  the  cry  "  Save  1 
Sparing  only  the  kind, 
The  few  whom  love  did  bind;  — 
Never  against  thy  heart 
Was  hurled  one  fiery  dart. 
They  held  thee  far  above, 
Looking  with  eyes  of  love 
On  thy  deep  agony. 
Thy  untold  misery  ; 
Saying,  "  From  the  deep  trance, 
O,  turn  thy  loving  glance  ; 
Look  on  us  for  a  while. 
Lady  of  love  and  smile." 
Broken  their  scattered  bands. 
Palsied  their  fearless  hands. 
Death  holds  them  cold  and  still 
Beneath  his  iron  will. 
Or  if,  far  o'er  the  plain. 
Their  remnants  still  remain, 
Not  upon  bended  knee 
Do  they  petition  thee  ; 
Theirs  is  no  craven's  prayer  ; 
They  still  can  fight  and  dare,  — 
They  do  not  fear  to  die. 
The  pathway  to  the  sky 
Is  lighted  by  the  fires 
Of  risen  braves  and  sires ; 
But  for  the  sake  of  truth. 
And  justice,  and  thy  youth,  — 


LAUS  NATURA, 

Because  they  love  thee  well, 
And  near  thy  smile  would  dwell,  — 
Because  though  they  are  weak 
And  few,  their  dead  yet  speak 
From  their  unnumbered  graves, 
The  warriors  and  braves  ; 
With  mute  mouths  motionless. 
Their  silent  pleadings  press. 
From  stream  and  river  side, 
Where,  bleeding,  they  have  died  ; 
From  every  foot  of  sod. 
Where,  gazing  up  to  God, 
The  flowers'  tearful  eyes 
Weep  o'er  their  sacrifice  ; 
From  mounds  of  sacred  stones 
Covering  their  white  bones  ; 
From  shores  beaded  with  spray, 
Where  they  were  wont  to  stray  j 
Where  sobbing  murmuring  waves 
Wash  o'er  their  nameless  graves  ; 
From  fallen  forest  trees. 
Ravaged  and  torn,  like  these 
Scattered  and  shattered  bands. 
They  plead  with  dead  cold  hands  \ 
From  the  wild  eastern  coast. 
The  nation's  pride  and  boast, 
Each  grim  and  startled  ghost 
Appears  by  stream  and  lake, 
In  deep  morass  and  brake. 
The  pines  are  haunted  so 
With  whisperings  of  woe, 
Its  echoes  murmur  back 


HESPERIA, 


From  the  fair  Merrimac  ; 

The  Androscoggin  pours 

In  tears  along  the  shores  ; 

The  mountain's  brow  is  white 

With  a  ghastly,  ghostly  light; 

The  Apalachian  range 

With  horror  is  made  strange  ; 

Far  on  those  gleaming  heights, 

Burn  weird  and  haunting  lights  ; 

From  the  Atlantic's  plain, 

Where  hovering  still  remain 

The  memories  of  days 

Long  passed  ;  from  those  fair  bays, 

The  haunts  of  spring-time  loves, 

A  mighty  murmur  moves. 

II- 

POWHATAN. 

Powhatan  pleads  ;  his  tongue 
To  no  base  falsehood  clung. 
Wise  was  he  for  his  time, 
Skilled  in  those  arts  sublime 
Of  peace  and  perfect  rule  ; 
His  was  the  simple  school 
Of  nature  ;  though  severe, 
Still  it  was  held  as  dear. 
As  sacred  as  the  laws 
Having  a  baser  cause. 
The  pride  of  Christian  kings, 
Wealth,  power,  and  such  things, 


LA  us  NATURA. 


As  named  Enlightenment, 
Into  his  realm  were  sent, 
To  ravage  and  to  kill 
At  their  unbridled  will. 
Noble  his  heart  and  mind, 
Brave,  hospitable,  kind. 
When  asked  to  betray 
His  people,  he  would  say, 
"  This  is  no  coward's  hand, 
It  strikes  for  this  dear  land.'' 
When  harassed,  tortured,  pressed, 
His  people  sore  distressed. 
He  still  would  brook  no  peace, 
E'en  for  his  child's  release. 
Save  that  which  satisfied 
His  honor  and  his  pride. 
Had  Roman  citizen. 
Or  one  of  Sparta's  men. 
Or  heroes  of  renown 
Who  wore  a  robber's  crown, 
But  proved  themselves  as  brave 
Their  nation's  life  to  save. 
Blazoned  upon  the  page 
Of  history,  each  age 
Would  mark  them  for  all  time 
As  patriots  sublime. 
For  nature's  noblemen 
There  is  no  Plutarch's  pen,  — 
No  strong  impartial  glaive. 
To  rescue  and  to  save. 
But  these  were  laws  as  pure. 
More  fitting  to  endure 


170 


HESPERIA. 


Than  those  whom  love  of  gold 
Their  nation's  honor  sold, 
Or  bartered  truth  for  power 
In  proud  ambition's  hour. 

III. 

POCAHONTAS. 

Fair  Pocahontas  pleads. 
Her  life  and  noble  deeds 
Shine  out  through  the  dim  years, 
Like  stars  or  angels'  tears. 
Her  slanderers  to  shame  ; 
They  who  would  thus  defame 
A  woman's  sacred  name,  — 
Ravishing  e'en  the  dead. 
To  tear  from  honor's  head 
The  crown,  more  priceless  far 
Than  Fame's  dim  chaplets  are,  — 
Would  light  the  martyrs'  fires 
For  unhallowed  desires  ; 
Would  barter  their  own  souls. 
To  gain  ambition's  goals  ; 
Would  even  Truth  defy. 
And  murmur  "  Crucify  !  " 
She  pleads  all  eloquent. 
Who  by  her  kindness  went 
Through  the  dark  night  and  storm. 
By  her  brave  heart  kept  warm, 
To  do  her  foemen  good, 
To  bring  them  warning,  food  ; 


LAUS  iVATURA. 


Who,  young  in  thoughts  and  years, 
Strove  by  her  prayers  and  tears 
To  calm  the  dreadful  ire 
And  vengeance  of  her  sire 
When  once  his  nation's  foe 
Was  captive.    But  the  No 
That  came  from  his  strong  will. 
Proved  that  he  would  fulfill 
The  dreadful  doom  of  death. 
AVhen  in  another  breath 
She  placed  her  own  fair  head 
Upon  the  doomed,  and  said, 
"  I  give  my  life  instead  ;  " 
Saved  one  who  loved  not  her, 
But  was  her  worshipper 
Thereafter.    Then  her  sire. 
Obeying  her  desire. 
Bade  him  again  go  forth ; 
And  for  that  deed  of  worth. 
War's  bloody  shaft  was  sent 
Across  his  continent; 
His  child  a  captive  bound. 
To  heal  the  gaping  wound. 
Her  loveliness  did  move 
A  noble  youth  to  love, 
And  she,  his  faith  to  prove. 
Bade  him  go  seek  her  sire 
And  learn  his  heart's  desire. 
Not  for  those  gifts  nor  gold. 
Nor  promises  untold. 
Not  e'en  for  her  release. 
Would  the  chief  promise  peace., 


HESPERIA. 


But  when  he  knew  his  child 

With  love  was  crowned,  he  smiled, 

And  gave  her  to  the  one 

She  loved,  naming  him  son. 

This  token  that  the  wars 

Were  ended,  till  the  bars 

Of  death  closed  o'er  him, 

Never  grew  dark  nor  dim ; 

And  though  he  loved  them  not,  • 

His  foes,  he  ne'er  forgot 

The  daughter  of  his  heart, 

And  dwelt  alone,  apart. 

She  pleads  ;  far  o'er  the  sea 

Her  fadeless  memory 

Weaves  chaplets  for  the  free  ; 

Tossed  on  the  angry  tide. 

Awhile  they  will  abide  ; 

Then  near  and  nearer  come 

To  her  own  native  home. 

On  the  Potomac's  breast 

The  wreathed  flowers  shall  rest ; 

Over  Virginia's  shore 

The  spray  of  leaves  shall  pour ; 

Her  soul  shall  haunt  the  hills, 

Her  step  beside  the  rills 

Be  heard  ;  "  for  nations  wed. 

There  should  be  peace  instead 

Of  endless  cruel  strife  ; 

For  ye  I  gave  my  life." 

Yet  countless  as  the  sands 

Are  those  whom  war's  commands 

Have  hurried  to  death's  shore  ; 


LA  us  NATURA. 


They  plead  for  evermore. 
Powhatan  and  his  braves 
Sleep  in  forgotten  graves  \ 
No  monumental  stone 
Tells  of  their  brave  deeds  done ! 
New  sounds  of  woe  are  heard, 
New  wrongs  the  winds  have  stirred, 
Other  cries  rend  the  air ; 
And  bleeding  hearts  all  bare 
Plead  up  to  Heaven  of  wrongs 
Great  as  these  sad,  sad  songs. 
But  Justice  never  sleeps  ; 
Somewhere  his  angel  keeps 
The  record  of  those  years, — 
A  nation's  tortures,  fears. 
The  blood  they  gave  for  tears. 
And  when  those  names  are  traced, 
No  falsehood  e'er  disgraced 
Who  loved  their  native  sod. 
Their  people  and  their  God. 
Along  that  sacred  line 
Powhatan's  name  shall  shine. 

IV. 

MASSASOIT. 

Round  Massasoit's  head 
A  halo  bright  is  shed  ; 
Though  dim  the  records  are, 
His  glory,  like  a  star. 
Shines  through  history's  night. 
Transcendent,  clear,  and  bright. 


HESPERIA. 


Of  high  kingly  renown, 

He  wore  the  native  crown 

Won  by  merit  and  worth, 

Not  heritage  of  birth. 

Not  for  his  wars  his  fame  ; 

Though  brave,  his  gentle  name 

Proves  him  both  kind  and  wise. 

Mild  were  his  fearless  eyes. 

One  of  the  noble  race. 

Who  welcomed  with  sweet  grace 

His  brothers  as  they  came 

From  far  off  fields  of  Fame, 

Over  the  trackless  sea, 

To  find  a  home  with  thee  j  — 

And  loving  thee  and  thine, 

He  bowed  at  thy  bright  shrine, 

Seeing  thee  smiling  fair. 

Brighter  than  jewels  rare. 

At  peace  with  all  his  kind. 

Even  his  foes  could  find 

No  cause  for  cruel  wrong  ; 

His  wisdom  fastened  strong 

The  chains  of  love  and  faith 

Around  him  till  his  death. 

For  fifty  winters'  snows 

He  warded  off  the  blows 

Of  his  loved  nation's  foes. 

The  war-cloud  he  could  bend 

To  Peace  and  her  sweet  end  ; 

He  saw  it  soon  must  break. 

O,  for  his  gentle  sake, 

Whose  dead  hands  wear  no  stain, 


LAUS  NATURA. 

Who  wildly  pleads  again, 
Who  closed  his  eyes  in  love, 
The  world  can  well  approve 
His  noble  life  and  death  3 
Unto  thy  latest  breath 
He  pleads  for  the  great  woe 
Which  followed,  blow  on  blow. 
Falling,  chiefly,  on  one,  — 
His  brave  and  valiant  son. 
E'en  Massasoit  mild 
Rose  to  defend  his  child  ; 
Up  from  his  peaceful  grave 
He  rose  thy  name  to  save. 
*Twas  not  so  great  a  woe 
For  him  to  suffer  so, 
As  that  such  things  could  be  ; 
For  he  would  rather  see 
His  people  fade  and  die 
From  out  the  sun's  clear  eye, 
Than  that  such  ghastly  deeds 
Should  sow  their  bloody  seeds. 

V. 

KING  PHILIP. 

King  Philip  pleads.    His  wrongs 
Speak  with  appalling  tongues 
Against  his  Christian  foes  : 
O,  be  not  thou  as  those. 
Never  such  deeds  were  done 
Beneath  the  burning  sun, 


HESPERIA. 


Save  on  thy  sacred  sod, 

Thus  consecrate  to  God. 

Though  stern  in  arts  of  war, 

No  stain  can  ever  mar 

His  love  of  home  and  kin, 

The  glory  he  did  win. 

Gentle  was  he  and  kind; 

No  captive  e'er  did  find 

Him  cruel  or  severe  ; 

Friendship  was  ever  (^ear  ; 

His  heritage  was  good  ; 

On  nature's  rank  he  stood, 

And  his  great  valor  proved, 

Defending  those  he  loved. 

'Tis  true,  he  wisely  planned. 

And  his  own  vantage  scanned, 

To  strike  the  final  blow 

On  those  who  sure  and  slow 

Were  robbing  him  of  home 

And  kin,  —  who  treacherous  come 

To  barter  and  to  slay, 

And  on  his  dear  ones  prey. 

'Tis  true  he  suffered  long,  — 

Nature  ever  is  strong,  — 

Suffered  for  fire  and  food. 

Let  it  be  understood 

They  suffer  not  in  vain 

Who  such  conquests  can  gain. 

'Tis  true  he  nobly  died. 

And  better  by  his  side 

To  stand  to-day,  than  wear 

The  brand  which  those  must  bear, 


LAUS  NATURA, 


Who,  being  Christians,  said : 
"  We  have  King  Philip's  head ; 
Never,  living  or  dead, 
Shall  he  possess  it  more.'' 
And  thus  from  door  to  door, 
From  town  to  town,  'twas  sent. 
This  horrid  monument 
Of  bigotry  and  pride. 
These  would  have  crucified 
Their  Saviour.    Not  alone 
Are  these  great  wrongs  his  own. 
Last  of  his  kingly  band, 
Swept,  like  the  grains  of  sand 
Caught  in  the  whirlwind's  breath, 
To  misery  and  death. 
He  pleads  for  that  brave  boy, 
His  youngest  hope  and  joy,  — 
Who,  though  King  Philip's  son, 
No  other  crime  had  done, — 
Was  first  condemned  to  death, 
But  in  another  breath 
To  slavery  was  sold,  — 
His  body  bought  for  gold. 
But  for  his  fearless  soul. 
It  would  not  brook  control ; 
Beneath  the  galling  glaive 
He  woijld  not  toil  a  slave. 
Away  from  home  and  kin ; 
No  bribe  or  threat  could  win  ; 
His  captors  he  defied. 
And,  proudly  starving,  died. 
Bend  low  your  heads,  ye  hills, 

12 


HESPERIA. 


In  shame  ;  ye  sparkling  rills, 

Turn  all  your  drops  to  blood, 

To  wipe  away  this  flood. 

O,  granite  cliffs,  bow  down. 

Surrender  your  fair  crown  ; 

Ye  forests  and  bright  fields, 

Your  vernal  beauties  yield; 

In  ashes  and  in  dust, 

O  bow,  for  God  is  just ! 

And  somewhere  His  right  hand 

Hath  placed  the  burning  brandy 

O  Athenia,  thou^ 

Upon  thy  false  fair  brow. 

VI. 

CANONICUS. 

A  twofold  matchless  power 

Shone  in  a  darker  hour,  —  - 

Canonicus  the  brave, 

Striving  his  race  to  save. 

With  Miantonomo. 

And  though  these  two  were  slain, 

Never  will  dawn  again 

The  day  when  wisdom's  star 

Will  shine,  from  years  afar. 

As  in  their  breasts  it  shone 

To  those  who  were  their  own. 

But  'mid  the  din  of  years. 

One  friend,  above  all  fears. 

Was  true  to  them  and  kind,  — 

Whose  deeds  of  love  did  bind 


LAUS  NATURA, 


Them  ever  to  his  heart. 
And  though  the  fiery  dart 
Was  hurled  afar  and  near. 
To  him  they  said,  "  No  fear 
Need  come  to  thy  kind  breast ; 
Thou  and  thy  kin  shall  rest 
Free  from  all  harm/'    Six  snows 
Witnessed  their  fearful  blows 
Of  ravagement  around. 
His  home  secure  was  found, 
His  loved,  his  life  preserved,  — 
A  boon  full  well  deserved. 
Honor  to  those  high  souls 
Whom  truth  and  love  controls ; 
And  honor  to  the  brave 
Who  thus  their  friend  could  save. 


vn. 

CANONCHET. 

•Nor  will  the  winds  forget 
Thy  valor,  Canonchet. 
Brave  as  the  bravest,  fleet 
As  the  swift  winds  thy  feet ; 
Never  against  thy  race 
Wouldst  thou  once  turn  thy  face 
To  aid  thy  Christian  foes ; 
Not  even  against  those 
Who  never  were  thy  friends. 
To  serve  no  baser  ends, 
Wouldst  thou  betray  the  brave, 
Not  e'en  thy  life  to  save. 


HESPERIA. 


VIII. 

GARANGULA. 

Garangula,  thy  tongue 

With  eloquence  was  hung : 

As  grapes  upon  the  vine, 

As  clustering  fruits  that  twine 

Around  the  giant  oak  ; 

Or  as  the  lightning  stroke 

Thy  words,  when  on  thy  foes 

Were  hurled  the  fearful  blows, 

Faster  and  faster  fell 

Thy  tones,  the  deadly  spell. 

Nothing  could  quench  the  fire 

Of  thy  proud  soul's  desire  ; 

True  to  thy  plighted  trust, 

Brave,  generous,  and  just. 

Serving  only  the  good, 

As  by  thee  understood; 

Never  thy  free  consent 

To  any  wrong  was  lent. 

O,  that  tly  words  could  move 

A  nation  into  love  ! 

Thy  voice  is  speaking  still, 

Thy  great  and  fearless  will 

Its  silent  torrent  pours 

Down  from  those  haunted  shores 

The  peaceful  golden  fields 

A  thrilling  harvest  yields  ; 

The  nation  feels  thy  breath ; 

Down  through  the  gate  of  Death 


LAUS  NATURA, 


Thy  thronging  kindred  come 
From  their  eternal  home. 

IX. 

TECUMSEH. 

Tecumseh,  thy  brave  vow, 
Slayer  of  the  stern  brow, 
Still  echoes  from  the  hills 
And  murmurs  in  the  rills. 
The  lightning  is  thy  breath. 
And  all  its  words  are  death. 
Fierce  charmer,  dread  decoy. 
Thine  was  the  pride  and  joy 
The  wild  war-cry  to  wake, 
And  thy  stern  vengeance  take 
On  those  who  ravaged  thee 
Of  land  and  liberty ; 
Wonderful  was  thy  skill 
To  hold  beneath  thy  will 
Thy  people.    Thou  wert  strong, 
Battling  against  the  wrong  ; 
Invincible,  brave  soul, 
Thine  was  the  martyr's  goal  ; 
For  driven,  driven  still. 
From  river  side  and  hill. 
From  hunting-grounds  and  graves, 
Sacred  to  sires  and  braves. 
Trifled  with  and  betrayed. 
Thou  reverently  obeyed 
Nature's  deep  impulse  grand,  — 
To  grasp  with  steady  hand 


HESPERIA, 


The  strong  avenging  blade; 
Nor  once  thy  purpose  stayed, 
Invoking  thy  loved  sires 
To  burn  their  sacred  fires 
On  the  broad  plains  above 
To  aid  thee  by  their  love. 
Thus  armed  thou  didst  stand 
The  terror  of  the  land. 
Not  as  a  valiant  soul 
Alone  upon  the  scroll 
Of  fame,  thy  name  shall  shine, 
But  every  deed  of  thine, 
Tecumseh,  aye  shall  be 
A  watchword  for  the  free. 

X. 

LOGAN. 

From  the  Kenhawa's  breast, 
Rising  in  wild  unrest, 
A  murmur  of  deep  woe 
Is  heard  ;  first  soft  and  low, 
Then  startling  all  the  air 
With  its  cry  like  despair; 
The  lingering  echo  dies, 
In  sad  and  mute  surprise. 
Logan,  it  is  thy  voice  ; 
No  more  the  winds  rejoice, 
Nor  the  sweet  airs  of  spring 
In  joy  their  perfumes  fling ; 
No  more  the  dancing  rills 
Leap  joyous  down  the  hills  ; 


LAUS  NATURA. 


The  river's  tide  no  more 

Kisses  the  vernal  shore  * 

In  sign  of  tenderness  ; 

But  deep,  sullen  distress 

Is  heard  in  every  tone 

For  thee,  since  thou  art  gone,  — 

And  since  thy  nameless  grief 

Found  no  fitting  relief, 

No  recompense  for  life. 

But  only  woe  and  strife. 

O,  patient  soul  of  pain, 

Let  him  not  plead  in  vain. 

O,  lady,  sad  and  sweet. 

The  waves  his  woes  repeat, 

Floating  upon  the  tide. 

His  dear  ones  by  his  side  j 

Knowing  full  well  no  wrong 

Around  his  fair  name  clung, 

Waiting  within  the  shade. 

In  murderous  ambuscade. 

The  dastard  cowards  drew 

And  his  beloved  ones  slew. 

All  unprovoked  the  wrong  j 

His  voice  was  ever  strong 

For  peace  ;  but  when  his  kin 

Were  slain,  so  foul  a  sin 

His  thirst  for  vengeance  stirred, 

And  never  more  a  word 

Of  love  or  praise  he  spoke. 

But  the  loud  war-cry  woke ; 

Nor  sheathed  again  his  blade 

Till  death  its  purpose  stayed. 


HESPERIA, 


Had  he  been  cruel,  stern, 
Or  if  his  heart  did  burn 
To  do  his  fellows  wrong, 
Then  would  this  sad  true  song 
No  more  his  pleadings  pour 
Upon  the  vernal  shore. 
But  he  was  noble,  true, 
Keeping  for  aye  in  view 
Those  hospitable  rules 
Unknown  in  Christian  schools. 
And  when  his  people  strove 
To  win  him  from  the  love 
He  bore  to  thee  and  thine, 
No  art  could  lure  or  twine 
Around  his  heart  to  kill 
That  love  save  this  great  ill. 
O,  matchless  eloquence. 
By  sorrow  made  intense, 
And  deep  as  undertones 
Of  the  sad  sea-soul  moans. 
These  words  of  fire  shall  burn 
Wherever  men  may  turn, 
Rising  to  mock  and  shame 
The  flippant  tongues  who  blame 
A  soul  so  proud  and  great. 
Beyond  this  earthly  state. 
Above  all  human  praise 
The  hands  of  Heaven  shall  raise 
A  monument  of  fame, 
On  which  the  noble  name 
Of  Logan  shall  be  traced. 
And  never  be  effaced. 


LAUS  NATURA. 


XI. 

OSCEOLA. 

Flowers,  why  do  ye  bloom 
And  shed  your  sweet  perfume; 
Why  fill  and  thrill  the  air 
With  loveliness  so  rare  ? 
Up  from  the  land  of  light 
A  deadly  cloud,  like  night, 
Blinds  the  clear  eye  of  day, 
Blasts  the  fair  bloom  of  May. 
Like  deadly  upas  shades 
The  haunted  air  pervades, 
Encircling  all  the  bowers 
Usurping  their  fair  powers. 
The  everglades  still  hold 
Stories  of  wrongs  untold, 
Remnants  of  glory  gone 
Of  life  forever  flown. 
The  year,  the  day  was  done, 
A  king,  whose  race  was  run. 
Sank  with  the  setting  sun. 
Lingering  still,  those  rays 
One  tender  parting  gaze 
Flashed  over  the  lagoon 
Where  hung  the  golden  moon. 
Lingering  still,  the  Chief 
Feared  not  the  journey  brief 
Over  the  river  cold  ; 
But  he  was  faint  and  old. 


HESPERIA. 


A  captive  on  the  sod 

Where  once  his  free  feet  trod,  — 

Too  feeble  e'en  to  raise 

His  eyelids,  once  to  gaze 

On  the  blue  bending  dome, 

On  the  land  once  his  home. 

—  Lingering,  still  the  sun 
Waited  till  life  was  done. 
Few  were  the  faithful  hands 
Left  to  his  last  commands. 
Tender  they  raised  his  form, 
Torn  by  the  wars  and  storm, 
Opened  for  him  those  eyes; 
Sudden  with  swift  surprise. 
Kindled  their  flashing  glance 
Like  sharp  and  gleaming  lance. 

—  Slowly  the  setting  sun 
Waited  till  life  was  done. 
Strangers  were  watching  him, 
And  though  his  sight  was  dim, 
And  the  pale  spectral  guest 
Already  smote  his  breast, 
Proudly  he  spoke,  and  said  : 

"Had  your  master,  instead. 
Been  conquered  by  my  hand. 
And  died  in  this,  my  land. 
No  stranger's  eyes  should  stare 
Thus  on  him  unaware. 
Go  tell  him  this,"  with  pride, 
And  like  a  king  he  died. 

—  Gone  was  the  setting  sun. 
The  chieftain's  race  was  run. 


LAUS  NATURA, 


And  all  his  story  told 

Was,  that  he,  young  and  old. 

Refused  to  betray 

His  people,  or  to  say 

The  land  was  not  his  own. 

And  every  hill  and  stone 

Proclaims  his  sacrifice 

To  our  dear  lady's  eyes. 

But  O,  his  waking  soul 

Still  holds  supreme  control, 

And  all  his  pride  and  worth 

Speak  from  the  saddened  earth. 

Never  could  his  lips  cling 

To  falsehood's  venomed  sting. 

When  once  his  name  he  signed 

To  what  his  foes  designed 

His  people  should  betray. 

Swift  as  a  flash  of  day 

His  keen  sharp  blade  was  sent 

Through  the  cursed  instrument. 

Cleaving  the  bond  in  twain. 

Saying,  "  No  traitor's  stain 

On  Osceola's  brow 

Shall  rest.    Ye  break  your  vow." 

—  And  every  setting  sun 

Shines  like  the  name  he  won. 

xn. 

PONTIAC. 
Thy  spirit,  Pontiac, 
Still  hurls  thine  arrows  back, 


HESPERIA. 


Not  deadly,  as  before, 
But  all  along  the  shore 
Of  thy  proud  inland  seas 
They  whiz  upon  the  breeze  ; 
The  wild  woods,  echoing 
Thy  voice,  forever  fling 
Thy  challenge,  free  from  blame, 
Thy  conquering  foes  to  shame. 
Fierce  were  thy  bloody  wars, 
Thou  valiant  son  of  Mars  ! 
Strong  'gainst  thy  allied  foes. 
Often  thy  deadly  blows 
Gave  thee  the  conqueror's  power. 
Once  in  a  dreadful  hour 
Thine  enemies  to  hold 
Prisoners  in  their  stronghold  ; 
Valorous,  brave,  severe, 
Yet  kind  to  those  most  dear, 
Lighting  the  midnight  fire  - 
To  quench  thy  native  ire. 
'Tis  true  the  innocent 
Often  to  death  were  sent ; 
Not  thine  the  blame,  but  those 
Who  were  thy  nation's  foes. 
Seeking  still  to  betray 
And  drive  thy  race  away. 
Conquered,  defeated,  driven. 
By  war  and  famine  riven. 
Thy  race  pleads  up  to  Heaven. 


LAUS  NATURA. 


189 


XIIL 

•  SAGOYAWATHA. 

Sagoyawatha,  thou 

Of  splendid  regal  brow, 

Last  of  thy  hne  of  kings, 

From  thy  proud  name  there  springs 

A  host  of  noble  words, 

Like  flocks  of  dauntless  birds 

That  scorn  the  earth  and  soar 

Afar  their  song  to  pour ; 

Or  like  the  antelope 

Upon  the  woodland  slope, 

Fleeing,  all  undefiled, 

Into  the  native  wild ; 

Undaunted  and  untamed. 

Modest,  yet  unashamed, 

Gifted  with  every  grace, 

Honored  in  thy  proud  place, 

In  eloquence  alone 

Peerless,  thou  crowned  one  ; 

Moving  the  heart  to  tears, 

Blanching  the  cheek  wdth  fears, 

Or  nerving  the  proud  will 

Thy  purpose  to  fulfill ; 

Swaying  the  multitudes, 

As  by  the  autumn  floods 

Grasses  and  leaves  are  borne, 

Trees  from  their  roots  uptorn  ; 

Or  as  the  passing  breeze 

Rustles  the  leafy  trees, 


HESPERIA. 


Tossing  them  more  and  more, 
Till  in  a  deafening  roar  ■ 
Breaks  the  stern  tempest's  breath, 
Thy  words  gave  life  or  death. 
No  threat  of  foe  or  friend 
Could  thy  proud  spirit  bend  ; 
Generous,  though  austere, 
Never  wert  thou  severe, 
Scorning  the  base  intent 
Of  false  enlightenment. 
Treachery,  crime,  deceit, 
Never  to  thee  seemed  sweet ; 
Civilization  gave 
Nothing  to  win  or  save. 
But  only  to  destroy 
Thy  people  and  their  joy. 
When  like  a  serpent's  coils 
It  wound  them  in  its  toils, 
Closer  and  closer  pressed, 
Until  it  stung  thy  breast. 
Apart  thou  firmly  stood. 
Choosing  thy  solitude  ; 
Nor  wore  the  servile  yoke 
Bent  for  thee,  thy  heart  broke. 
Silent  that  matchless  voice  : 
No  more  the  winds  rejoice 
To  hear  thy  magic  tones  ; 
No  more  the  glad  earth  owns 
Thy  footsteps  proud  and  free. 
Thy  soul  of  Liberty 
Still  haunts  the  sacred  shore 
Where  those  bright  waters  pour 


LAUS  NATURA, 


From  the  vast  northern  lakes, 

Until  their  surface  breaks 

In  wonderful  wild  waves, 

Rushing  to  silent  graves 

O'er  Niagara's  chasm 

With  many  a  fearful  spasm,  — 

With  deafening  voice  of  thunder 

Bids  nations  pause  and  wonder. 

Waking  the  undertone 

For  thy  proud  people  gone. 

The  mild  Ontario 

Still  murmurs  of  thy  woe  ! 

As  leaves  turn  brown  and  sere 

When  summer  yet  is  here  ; 

As  desolate  and  torn 

The  field  of  unripe  corn  ; 

As  the  life-giving  breath 

Of  forests  turns  to  death 

When  ravaged,  thy  torn  race 

Have  lost  their  wonted  place  ; 

All  silently  they  hear 

Thy  noble  footsteps  near, 

But  wait  for  Death's  release 

To  bring  them  home  and  peace. 

Yet  thou,  All  Eloquent, 

Shall  live  when  time  is  spent. 

Beloved,  yet  awhile 

Turn  thou  thy  face  and  smile  ; 

Numberless  as  the  sands 

Are  these  uplifted  hands  ; 

As  many  as  the  snows 

Are  their  unspoken  woes  ; 


2 


HESPERIA. 


Numerous  as  the  leaves, 

That  from  autumn's  brown  sheaves 

Have  fallen  to  decay,  — 

Many  as  these  are  they. 

Far  to  the  boundless  West 

Their  bleeding  feet  have  pressed  ; 

The  ^Mississippi's  tide 

Murmurs  how  they  have  died. 

Not  even  that  fair  stream 

Could  bid  them  pause,  nor  dream 

Of  peace,  but  hurried  on  ; 

Each  promise,  one  by  one, 

Broken ;  each  refuge  gone. 

Far  to  the  setting  sun 

They,  faint  and  feeble,  fled  ; 

Yet  from  the  river's  bed, 

Up  from  die  surging  tide 

Of  waters  deep  and  wide, 

The  turbid  torrent  wakes 

xVnd  murmurs  for  their  sakes, 

And  voices  bear  along 

The  burden  of  this  song :  — 

XIV. 

HYMN  TO  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 
I. 

Great  Father  of  AVaters  !  "  we  pause  on  thy  shores, 

Here  would  we  gladly  rest, 

Close  to  thy  beating  breast, 
Mingling  our  sobbings  with  thy  ceaseless  roar. 


LAUS  NATURA. 


I 


II. 

O  mightiest  river,  thou  wonderful  stream, 
Strong  are  thy  giant  arms. 
Matchless  thy  potent  charms, 

Widening  and  deepening  like  the  spirits'  dreams. 

III. 

What  tributes  are  thine  from  a  great  continent  ! 
Such  rich  full  offerings,  — 
Richer  than  gold  of  kings,  — • 

The  ages  in  barges  all  laden  have  sent. 

IV. 

O,  monarch  majestic,  thy  broad  brow  is  bound 

With  lakes  like  living  gems, 

Wrought  into  diadems. 
Prouder  than  earthly  kings  with  splendors  crowned 

V. 

And,  gleaming  where  Phoebus'  morning-car  dips 
Far  o'er  the  mountain  height. 
Quivering  with  delight, 

The  diamond  streams  flash  on  thy  finger  tips. 

VI. 

Link  after  link  and  bright  coil  upon  coil, 
Swift  bands  thy  strong  arms  bind, 
Then  lovingly  unwind 

To  lay  on  thy  bosom  their  wonderful  spoil. 
13 


194 


HESPERIA, 


VII. 

Like  lovers,  the  rivers  are  hastening  to  meet, 

Shining  and  shimmering, 

Glancing  and  glimmering. 
To  mingle  their  waters  in  one  at  thy  feet. 

VIII. 

Nor  pausing,  nor  resting  where  golden  fields  bend, 

Each  shining,  ripening  crest. 

Alluring  them  to  rest. 
But  hasten  swift  footed  on  thee  to  attend. 

IX. 

Nor  staying,  though  prisoned  in  mill-stream  and  mart. 

Struggling  till  they  are  free 

They  only  seek  for  thee. 
To  lose  all  their  sorrows  in  thy  great  deep  heart. 

X. 

Rare,  crystalline  streams  from  the  gorges  afar. 
Bearing  the  wealth  of  ores 
From  nature's  wondrous  stores. 

Love  laden,  more  golden  than  treasure  or  star, 

XI. 

Bright,  beautiful  streams  from  the  beautiful  hills, 

WJiere  angels  of  the  morn 

Their  burnished  wings  adorn, 
Dipping  their  pinions  in  thy  bright  baby  rills; 


LAUS  NATURA, 


XII. 


All  giving  the  wealth  which  thy  broad  bosom  pours 

Lavishly  on  each  side, 

Whene'er  thy  waters'  tide 
Overflows,  enriching  all  thy  vernal  shores. 


XIII. 


A  nation,  a  world  sing  their  praises  to  thee, 
Of  thy  power  and  length, 
Of  thy  wonderful  strength. 

Unbounded  thy  waters,  so  potent  and  free. 


XIV. 


O  "  Father  of  Waters ! "  thy  bosom  is  deep, 
Thy  turbid  tide  doth  hold 
Treasures  and  thoughts  untold,  — 

Things  sacred  to  the  ages  thou  dost  keep. 

XV. 

And  thou  doth  bear  witness  of  races  agone 
Who  have  laved  in  thy  tide. 
Who  have  named  thee  in  pride. 

Crossing  to  the  shadowless  land  all  alone. 

XVI. 

But  up  from  thy  bosom  dark  shadows  appear, 

Like  a  vapor  or  smoke 

By  the  morning  sun  woke  ; 
They  question  thee,  river,  of  those  once  so  dear. 


196 


HESPERIA, 


XVII. 

They  question,  —  no  answer  can  come  from  thy  heart, 

But  thy  waters  can  pour 

Like  their  tears  on  the  shore  ; 
Their  images  never  from  thee  will  depart. 

XVIII. 

Forever,  O  river  !  thy  waters  shall  run, 

And  plant  in  the  sod 

The  germs  called  by  God 
To  blossom  and  ripen  'neath  the  southern  sun. 

XIX. 

Forever  the  far  mountain  springs  shall  arise, 
And  the  bright  streams  descend, 
With  thy  w^aters  to  blend. 

Ascending  in  vapors  like  souls  to  the  skies. 

XX. 

Forever  and  ever  upon  thy  proud  breast, 

Ships  of  men,  and  the  trees 

And  leaves,  and  e'en  these 
Proud  nations  shall  float  out  to  an  endless  rest. 

XXI. 

Forever,  O  sire  of  the  rivers  I  when  thou 
Shall  be  merged  in  the  sea, 
And  the  stream  lost  in  thee. 
And  the  dew  in  the  stream, 
And  when  up,  like  a  dream. 


LAUS  NATURA. 


Or  a  ghost,  shall  arise, 
Thy  white  soul  to  the  skies, 
When  all  things  to  the  final  Spirit  must  bow  — 

XXII. 

Forever,  O  Parent  of  souls  !  we  are  thine ; 

And  all  races  of  men 

Shall  be  gathered  again. 
Transfigured,  around  Thee  and  thy  holy  shrine. 

XV. 

The  western  wind  is  wild, 

O,  thou  beloved  child. 

With  sounds  of  horror  rife, 

Wasting  thy  fair  young  life, 

Blighting  the  vernal  tree, 

Just  blossoming  for  thee,  — 

The  tree  of  Liberty. 

The  eagle,  out  of  sight, 

Screams  on  the  mountain  height ; 

The  river  and  the  plain 

Wear  the  accursed  stain ; 

The  sun  with  plumes  of  red 

Sinks  to  his  fiery  bed; 

Within  the  earth's  fair  breast 

A  wild  and  fierce  unrest 

Is  struggling,  —  mighty  throes 

Of  sympathy  for  those 

Who  plead  this  hour  to  thee 

In  their  deep  agony. 

Nearer  and  nearer  winds 

The  serpent  strong  that  binds, 


HESPERIA, 


Encircles,  crushes,  stings 
These  as  he  fiercely  springs ; 
Far  from  the  east  it  girds 
Its  strokes  with  lightning  words. 
With  coils  of  iron  bands 
Binds  down  their  helpless  hands. 
With  cannon  voice  and  breath 
Drives  them  to  madness,  death, 
To  famine,  want,  and  shame, 
Diseases  without  name, 
And  bids  them  choose  between 
Two  evils.    One  has  been 
Well  tried,  —  the  curse  of  War  j 
The  other,  O  to  mar 
Thy  holy  name,  sweet  Peace, 
With  such  brief,  sad  release 
From  death  as  these  have  known 
Would  cause  angels  to  moan. 
Two  hundred  times  the  sun 
His  brilliant  course  has  run. 
And  the  round  harvest-moon 
Has  waxed  and  waned  too  soon, 
Since  in  thy  mother's  name 
The  Pilgrim  Fathers  came 
To  plant  for  her  and  thee. 
The  vine  of  Libert}^ ; 
And  every  hour  and  day 
Has  witnessed  some  delay,  — 
New  wrongs  'gainst  her  and  tliee, 
Till,  like  that  monstrous  tree, 
\Miich  once  taking  a  root, 
Each  branch  becomes  a  shoot  \ 


LAUS  NATURA. 


Again  and  yet  again 

It  shoots  till  the  whole  plain 

Is  covered  with  its  shade. 

So  hath  this  nation  made 

Its  wrongs,  that,  multiplied, 

The  hours  in  terror  died; 

The  months,  deluged  in  tears, 

Perished  amid  the  years  \ 

And  years  grew  pale  with  woe 

That  justice  moves  so  slow. 

Instead  of  Liberty, 

Behold  the  upas-tree. 

O  thou,  oppressed  so  long, 

By  suffering  made  strong, 

By  prayers  and  tears  o'ertried, 

By  sorrows  purified. 

In  visions  hast  thou  been 

Where  truth  and  love  are  seen ; 

Where  nature's  primal  cause 

Unfolds  her  perfect  laws  j 

Thou  who  hath  triumph  won 

O'er  all  wrongs  to  thee  done, 

Who  in  thy  purity 

And  lovely  chastity, 

Hast  shamed  and  vanquished  those 

Who  dared  to  be  thy  foes ; 

Thou,  free  from  every  blame 

That  on  thy  loved  name 

Was  hung  by  error  pale, 

Thou,  wilt  not,  canst  not,  fail 

To  do  the  one  great  good 

Obscured,  misunderstood. 


200 


HESPERIA. 


Perverted  into  wrong, 

Made  powerful  and  strong; 

More  strength  hast  thou  than  they, 

Thine  is  the  holier  way. 

O  proud  and  conquering  race 

Boasting  of  your  disgrace, 

Daring  to  thrust  the  dart 

Into  your  mother's  heart ; 

Were  all  your  life-blood  tears 

Shed  for  the  wrongs  of  years, 

Ye  could  not  wash  the  stain 

That  on  your  hands  remain  ; 

Were  your  tears  turned  to  blood, 

And  like  the  river's  flood 

Poured  out  upon  the  sod 

In  penitence  to  God,  — 

Were  you  each  hour  and  day 

To  watch  and  weep  and  pray, 

Still  Justice  would  not  stay  - 

Her  hand,  without  avail 

Where  prayers  and  tears,  the  wail 

Of  slaughtered  races,  fills 

The  ear  of  Peace,  and  thrills 

The  lovely  land  with  woe. 

Thus  have  you  wronged  her  so  : 

Though  you  build  temples  vast, 

And  all  your  treasures  cast 

In  Charit\''s  sweet  name. 

Yet  will  you  bear  this  blame  ; 

Though  sacred  spires  arise 

To  pi^^rce  the  bending  skies. 

And  voices  ever^'where 


LAUS  NATURA. 


20I 


Join  in  the  hymn  and  prayer, 
No  respite  can  you  gain 
Till  love  your  hands  restrain ; 
Each  deed  brings  recompense, 
Of  pain  or  joy  intense; 
And  'twixt  you  and  the  law 
Of  God,  no  feeble  flaw. 
Or  flimsy  woof  of  creed, 
Can  span  your  fearful  deed,  — 
Your  cross  and  Calvary 
Must  your  repentance  be, 
O  Lady  without  stain. 
Patient  mid  all  thy  pain, 
Loveliest  of  all  lands. 
Uplift  in  thy  white  hands,  — 
Those  hands  tender  and  dear,  — 
These  who  are  gathered  here. 
They  touch  thy  garments'  hem, 
For  thou  hast  need  of  them  ; 
They  will  bind  up  thy  feet 
For  those  paths  dear  and  sweet 
That  they  were  wont  to  press 
In  thy  loved  wilderness. 
'Tis  nature  speaks  to  thee, 
Bidding  thee  dare,  and  be 
All  that  thy  spirit  dreams  ; 
To  flash  the  many  beams 
That  o'er  thee  are  unfurled 
In  joy  upon  the  world. 


202 


HESPERIA. 


XVI. 
MOKETAVATA. 


I. 

A  sound  of  war  is  on  the  western  wind  ; 
The  sun,  with  fiery  flame,  sweeps  down  the  sky ; 
Athwart  his  breast  the  crimson  shadows  fly 

Of  fearless  forms  no  fetters  e'er  can  bind. 


II. 

The  eagle  plunges  from  his  mountain  nest, 
And  screaming,  soars  above  the  distant  plain, 
Plucking  his  plumes  without  a  pang  of  pain, 

Though  stained  with   blood  from   his  own  beatin 
breast. 

III. 

The  hunter  seeks  the  heated  herd  no  more,  — 
The  war-bird's  pinions  deck  his  dauntless  head  j 
The  antelope  with  fleetest  feet  has  fled 

From  woodland  copse  and  streams'  enticing  shore. 


IV. 

The  moving  purpose  of  a  mighty  mind, 
Resistless  as  swift  death,  a  race  now  claims. 
Wresting  its  weapons  from  their  wonted  aims, 

Leaving  pale  fear  and  famine  far  behind. 


LAUS  NATURA. 


Moke-ta-va-ta,  thy  form  appears  again, 
Thy  spirit  to  its  hunting-grounds  hath  risen; 
Thy  body,  bursting  from  its  wintry  prison. 

Blossoms  in  blood-red  flowers  on  the  plain. 


VI. 


Thy  voice  makes  eloquent  the  vital  air, 
Thy  splendid  image  fills  the  day's  clear  eye  ; 
Thy  people,  hearing,  seeing,  swiftly  fly. 

Like  war-birds,  flocking,  thronging,  everywhere. 

VII. 

In  thy  sad  fate  their  own  is  prophesied : 
They  strike  to  cleave  in  twain  the  burning  band 
Fastened  upon  them  by  a  reckless  hand. 

Inclosing,  crushing,  till  they  all  had  died. 

VIII. 

The  edict  under  which  thou  hast  been  slain 
Hath  been  the  nation's  crime,  latest  and  first. 
By  which  our  eldest  brother  was  accursed ; 

Yet  we,  unblushing,  bear  the  brand  of  Cain. 

IX. 

What  crimes  were  thine ;  of  what  dread  deeds 
cused ; 

Wert  thou  a  foe  to  freedom  or  thy  kind? 
Spoke  thou  with  double  tongue  or  faithless  mind. 
That  thus  thou  wert  betrayed,  reviled^  abused  ? 


2  04  HESPERIA. 


X. 

No  !    From  great  Nature's  paths  thou  freely  came, 
Leading  thy  people  to  the  nation's  feet ; 
And,  when  the  two  in  conflict  e'er  did  meet, 

Thine  was  the  honor,  —  ours  the  sin  and  shame. 

XI. 

Thy  words  w^ere  wisdom's  essence,  and  were  spoke 
With  guileless. spirit  and  with  single  tongue; 
No  falsehood's  venomed  arrows  'neath  them  clung, 

No  trust  was  e'er  betrayed,  no  promise  broke. 

XII. 

The  stranger  sought  thy  tepa  not  in  vain; 
Thou  gavest  him  clothing,  rest,  and  food,  and  fire, 
Whate'er  could  fill  his  heart  or  mind  desire. 

E'en  though  the  giving  brought  thy  bosom  pain. 

XIII. 

Nature  revealed  in  thee  her  perfect  art ; 
Thy  truth  and  valor  all  might  emulate, 
Thy  potent  power  true  homage  to  create, 

Thy  magnanimity  of  mind  and  heart. 

XIV. 

Even  thy  foes  could  win  thee  by  their  faith ; 
Between  them  and  the  vengeance  of  thy  kin 
Thou  oft  hast  stood,  though  theirs  the  damned  sin 

Of  thy  betrayal,  —  thine  the  martyr's  death. 


LAUS  NATURA, 


205 


*  XV. 

Thrice  earnest  thou  with  offerings  of  love, 
Pledging  thy  people  with  the  pipe  of  peace, 
That  nor  thy  warriors,  nor  thy  increase 

Against  the  Government  in  war  would  move. 

XVI. 

Once,  when  the  nation's  banner  o'er  thee  waved. 
Thy  village  rested  'neath  its  promised  care  ; 
The  dastard  coward  struck  thee  unaware,  — 

Only  by  courage  were  thy  people  saved. 

XVII. 

Thy  brother's  blood  beneath  thine  eye  did  flow. 
The  fire-arrows  had  stung  thy  faithful  wife, 
Yet  thou  didst  fly  to  save  the  stranger's  life : 

*^  I  think  you  spies  ;  I  do  not  know  it,  - —  go  !  " 

XVIII. 

Again  the  blundering  hand  of  power  destroyed 
Thy  stock  and  substance,  and  thy  tepas  burned  ; 
The  tardy  recompense  thy  spirit  spurned,— 

Remembrance  of  a  wrong  thou  wouldst  avoid. 

XIX. 

When  thy  young  men  the  war-bird's  plumes  would 
wear, 

To  vindicate  thy  right,  avenge  thy  wrong. 
Thy  voice  uplifted  this  persuasion  strong : 
"The  antelope  can  never  fight  the  bear." 


206 


HESPERIA, 


XX. 

And  when  the  battle-cry  was  well  begun, 
And  all  thy  influence  for  peace  was  past, 
From  thy  proud  form  the  chieftain's  robes  were  cast. 

And  thou  didst  sadly  seek  the  setting  sun, 

XXI. 

Followed  by  her  whose  faithful  willing  feet 
Companioned  all  thy  weary  wanderings  ; 
Camping,  with  thy  small  band,  near  the  clear  springs 

From  which  the   antelope  doth    drink    the  life-tide 
sweet. 

XXII. 

Ah  !  then  the  latest  and  the  foulest  wrong 
Came  upon  thee  without  a  warning  word ; 
Thee  and  thine  stricken,  like  a  hunted  herd. 

By  that  false  power  which  makes  the  might}^  strong ; 

XXIII. 

And  thou  wert  slain.    Whoever  dared  to  trace 
His  name  upon  the  order  for  thy  death. 
Will  wear  the  sting  until  his  latest  breath 

And  bind  the  curse  of  Cain  upon  his  race. 

XXIV. 

Six  times  the  waning,  weary  moon  hath  turned 
Her  forehead  from  the  heart-sick  earth  away, 
Pining  because  of  Justice's  long  delay. 

Since  thou,  V'oishta,  hath,  a  captive,  yearned 


LAUS  NATURA,  20^ 


XXV. 

For  some  avenging  hand,  some  voice  from  Heaven, 
To  strike  with  serpent- sting  this  nation  strong, 
That  dares  decide  to  whom  Ufe  doth  belong ;  — 

She  of  the  twelve  wounds  waits.  Thou,  Jesus^  had  but 
seven. 

XXVI. 

'Twas  ever  thus  ;  an  hundred  winters'  snows 
And  golden  harvest-moons  have  poured  their  flood 
Of  wine  and  corn  upon  a  people  good. 

And  yet  the  life-blood  of  a  nation  flows 

XXVII. 

To  slay  the  eldest  children  of  a  race 
Nearest  and  dearest  to  Columbia's  breast, 
Because  their  feet  her  virgin  soil  have  pressed, 

And  now  their  blood  and  tears  stain  her  loved  face. 

XXVI I L 

With  eager  hearts  and  unreluctant  feet. 
We  turn  from  our  fond  mother's  breast  away. 
We  scorch  our  brows  with  brands  of  blazing  day. 

Then  sigh  in  vain  for  her  dear  life-blood  sweet. 

•r 

XXIX. 

Civilization  with  its  burning  power. 
Slays  her  fair  image  with  its  fearful  glaive; 
Then  toiling  we  become  its  ready  slave, 

And  vainly  pine  for  respite  one  brief  hour. 


208 


HESPERIA. 


XXX. 

This  was  a  race  of  kings,  as  strong  and  true 
As  Roman  citizen,  or  Spartan  brave  ; 
Theirs  was  the  pride,  and  theirs  the  heart  to  save, 

Keeping  great  Nature's  lessons  full  in  view. 

XXXI. 

Moke-ta-va-ta,  thy  wrongs  shall  be  redressed  ; 
Thy  viewless  form  fills  all  the  vernal  air ; 
Nor  earth's  fair  bosom,  nor  the  spring  more  fair. 

Can  stay  the  footsteps  of  a  race  oppressed. 

XXXII. 

Their  name  is  legion,  and  from  mountain  slope 
And  distatit  plain  their  fearless  forms  appear. 
All  conquering,  and  all  potent,  without  fear 

They  come  with  our  proud  nation  now  to  cope. 

XXXIII. 

And  if  the  rivers  shall  run  red  with  blocfd, 
And  if  the  plain  be  strewn  with  mangled  forms, 
And  cities  burned  amid  the  battles'  storms. 

Ours  is  the  blame,  not  thine,  thou  great  and  good. 

XXXIV. 

Thy  name  shall  live  a  watchword  for  all  time,  — 
A  herald  and  a  beacon-light  to  all 
On  whom  the  tyrant  and  the  despot  fall^ 
,    Making  thy  death  a  heritage  sublime. 


LAUS  NATURA. 


2 


XXXV. 

If  of  this  noble  line  thou  wert  the  last, 
And  stood  on  the  extremest  ocean  verge, 
Thy  eloquence  would  all  thy  people  urge. 

And  in  one  deadly  conflict  they  would  cast 


XXXVI. 

Their  gauntlet  in  our  shameful,  flaming  face, 
And  then,  without  a  thought  of  praise  or  blame, 
Would  perish  to  avenge  thy  noble  name. 

And  prove  that  |hou  wert  of  a  kingly  race. 

XXXVII. 

A  sound  of  war  is  on  the  western  wind  ; 
The  sun,  with  fiery  flame,  sweeps  down  the  sky ; 
Athwart  his  breast  the  crimson  shadows  fly 

Of  fearless  forms  no  fetters  e'er  can  bind. 

XXXVIII. 

Down  through  the  golden  gateway  they  have  trod  \ 
The  mighty  scions  of  a  nation  come 
In  sweeping  circles  from  their  shining  home. 

With  weapons  from  the  battle-plains  of  God. 


14 


INTERLUDE. 


I. 

Strength! 
From  the  king  of  day, 
The  sun,  whose  smile  is  life, 
Whose  frown  is  darkness,  death ; 
Who  lighteth  up  the  earth. 
The  earth,  his  chosen  bride ; 
Who  guides  his  sister  pale. 
The  moon,  through  the  dark  night 
Who  looks  upon  his  bride, 
And  the  day  dawn  appears  ; 
Who  pities  the  pale  moon^ 
And  then  the  night  comes  on; 
Who  kisses  the  fair  earth. 
And  the  spring-time  is  here, 
Bringing  her  babes,  the  flowers ; 
Who  turns  his  face  away, 
And  the  Night's  brother  comes, — 
Stern  Winter,  pale  as  death. 
White  are  his  snowy  locks, 
Strong  are  his  chains  of  ice ; 
He  fastens  them  on  all 
The  rivulets  and  streams  ; 
He  shakes  his  fleecy  hair. 
And  feathered  snow-flakes  fly; 
But  the  sun  laughs  again. 
And  Winter  flies  away. 


INTERLUDE. 


211 


II. 

Strength  ! 
From  our  Mother  Earth, 
Whose  Uving  pulses  beat 
With  Ufe-tides  deep  and  strong  ; 
Whose  warm  maternal  breast 
Holds  nourishment  for  all ; 
Whose  heart  is  ever  true 
To  those  who  cling  to  her, 
Even  to  those  who  stray 
From  her  encircling  arms  : 
She  fain  would  follow  them 
With  fair  and  snowy  feet, 
And  fold,  all  silently, 
Their  sorrows  to  her  breast,  — 
Great  Mother  of  all  things 
Whose  heart  pulsates  in  time 
To  the  high  thoughts  of  God. 

III. 

Strength ! 
From  the  rocks  and  caves 
Where  ocean  waves  and  winds, 
Restless,  forever  beat 
Around  the  ages'  feet; 
From  Mountains  and  broad  Plains, 
Valleys  and  smiling  Hills, 
Forests  of  living  green. 
Fortitude  from  the  Pines, 
From  Cedar  endless  Love ; 


212 


HESPERIA, 


The  Spruce,  Balsam,  and  Fir, 
Give  each  their  healing  breath  ; 
Courage  from  the  proud  Oak, 
And  from  the  Elm  true  Grace  ; 
The  Maple  giveth  Thought 
And  mental  Nourishment : 
From  every  shrub  and  tree, 
Yielding  invisible 
And  soothing  balm  to  all. 

'  IV. 

Strength ! 
From  the  metals,  ores : 
From  Iron,  Silver,  Gold, 
The  beds  of  Copper,  Coal ; 
From  minerals  and  salts, 
All  veins  of  useful  things 
Treasured  and  garnered  up 
For  centuries  to  come ; 
From  rare  and  sparkling  gems 
The  Earth  has  crystallized, 
And  hidden,  stored  away 
In  caverns  dark-  and  lone. 
Or  tossed  on  burning  sands ; 
From  the  white  diamond's  light 
The  clear  white  light  of  Truth^ 
Faith  from  the  Emerald, 
And  from  the  Ruby  Love ; 
The  Sapphire  bringeth  Hope, 
The  Topaz  yieldeth  Fame  ; 
From  Turquois  cometh  Rest, 


INTERLUDE. 

And  from  the  Amber,  Thought, — 

Each  hath  its  own  delight,  — 

And  from  the  Crystal  springs 

Pure  Wisdom  and  clear  Light. 

From  healing  streams  whose  source 

Is  the  high  mountain  brow, 

By  cloud  and  mist  distilled. 

Waters  endowed  with  life 

The  ages  have  held  fast 

And  garnered  up  for  man. 

O,  healing  sparkling  springs, 

O,  limpid  diamond  drops^ 

O,  waters  without  stain, 

To  you  the  nations  come 

And  wash,  and  are  made  clean. 

V.  • 

Strength ! 
From  the  herbs  and  flowers 
Blossoming  everywhere  ; 
From  fruits  and  golden  grains, 
Holding  within  their  hearts 
All  nourishment  and  health. 
Poisons  and  antidotes, 
Sweets  for  the  senses  fine, 
Loveliness  for  the  eyes, 
Healing  for  every  pain  ; 
From  lips  of  fragrance,  fed 
By  gods  and  spirits  fair; 
Flowers,  a\l  eloquent, 
The  living  messengers 
Of  life  and  lovely  death,  — 


214 


HESPERIA, 


Death  which  is  but  a  change, 
Awakening  from  sleep, 
As  from  the  prisoned  germ 
The  bursting  bud  appears, 
And  then  cometh  the  flower, 
And  afterward  the  fruit. 

VI. 

Strength  ! 
From  the  winged  throng. 
The  birds :  from  eagles  wings, 
With  their  surpassing  power 
Mounting  far  out  of  sight. 
Diving  into  the  deeps, 
Gathering  food  below, 
Building  their  nests  on  high. 
Teaching  their  young  to  fly; 
Pushing  them  forth  alone, 
To  try  their  unfledged  wings. 
But  diving  ever  down- 
To  catch  them  if  they  fall  — 
So  is  the  spirit  thrust 
Out  from  the  Parent  nest, 
But  in  the  awful  dark 
Of  earth  it  is  upheld  ; 
Knows  the  kind  One  is  there, 
For  the  Great  Father's  love 
Extendeth  everywhere. 
From  birds  that  are  not  strong 
But  beautiful  of  wing, 
Like  odorless,  gay  flowers. 
Most  dazzling  to  the  eye, 


INTERLUDE. 


But  touching  not  the  soul 
Because  they  have  no  song  ; 
From  birds  who  hide  away, 
Shun  all  the  glare  and  light, 
But  whose  triumphant  song. 
Is  heard  far  out  of  sight,  — 
Like  souls  risen  they  sing, 
The  vibrant  air  is  stirred 
And  thrilled  with  their  delight  ; 
From  the  loved  nightingale, 
Peerless,  yet  sad  and  lone, 
Whose  song  seems  but  a  dream 
Of  some  remembered  joy,  — 
As  souls  immured  in  clay 
Some  reminiscence  find 
Of  a  beloved  home  ; 
From  skylarks  soaring  far, 
And  singing  as  they  soar 
They  cleave  a  higher  air. 
We  hear  but  cannot  see  : 
Our  souls  go  after  them. 
As  we  follow  the  loved 
Who  are  caught  up  to  heaven. 

VII. 

Strength  ! 
From  the  lofty  souls 
Who  tread  the  paths  of  space, 
Whose  lives  were  made  complete 
By  all  great  nature  gave  ; 
Who  stand  arrayed  in  light. 
The  light  of  their  own  thoughts, 


2l6 


HESPERIA. 


As  worlds  and  suns  are  clothed 
In  brightness  all  their  own  j 
Souls  who  have  braved  and  dared 
All  things  for  Truth  and  Love 
And  Wisdom's  precious  sake,  — 
Who  from  the  splendid  height, 
Where  they  like  suns  have  risen, 
Shine  out,  the  guiding  stars, 
To  light  us  o'er  the  wide 
And  weary  waste  of  years  j 
From  struggling,  toiling  souls 
Battling  with  strife  and  wrong  ; 
From  darkened,  clouded  souls 
Who  have  not  found  the  day. 
Waiting,  as  the  germ  waits 
Beneath  the  silent  sod. 
Until  the  sun's  bright  rays 
Wins  it  to  life  and  love  j 
From  souls  made  glad  and  strong 
By  conquests  they  have  gained 
O'er  selfishness  and  pride. 
Over  ambition's  glare ; 
From  martyrs'  souls  who  gave 
Their  lives  for  the  world's  sake, 
(Or  rather  lived  their  Truths 
And  thus  were  crucified). 

VIII. 

Strength  ! 
From  Poets  who  drank 
Nectar  by  gods  distilled, 
And  tasted  of  the  fruits 


INTERLUDE. 


217 


From  proud  Olympus'  height, — 

Who  breathed  their  songs  and  died, — 

Who  live  in  every  form 

Of  loveliness  on  earth 

And  in  each  dream  of  heaven; 

From  all  the  master  minds 

Who  filled  their  chosen  place, 

And  left  a  perfect  gift 

To  earth,  a  monument 

On  which  these  words  are  traced,  — 

Thus  much  the  world  has  gained. 

Because  that  great  soul  came." 

From  souls  complete,  entire 

As  the  full  rounded  years, 

To  whom  at  l^st  life  gave 

Its  highest  heights  of  Love, 

Its  deepest  depths  of  Truth, 

Leaving  them  nought  to  fear 

And  nought  to  gain  on  earth  ; 

Whose  very  pressure  gave 

A  harmony  and  peace. 

And  made  the  vibrant  air 

Grow  glad  with  new  delight ; 

And  who,  having  thus  lived. 

Made  everything  more  fair. 

And  who,  passing  away. 

Were  mourned  not  as  the  dead. 

But  were  beheld,  instead. 

Each  like  a  sun  or  star, 

In  constellations  bright 

Where  the  immortals  are. 


HESPERIA. 
BENEDICTION. 


Bttsitnttts  ta 

ULYSSES  S.  GRANT, 

S 

THE  EARNEST   PATRIOT,  THE  FAITHFUL  SERVANT  OF  THE  PEOPLE, 
THE  TRUE  FRIEND  OF  THE  OPPRESSED  AND  LONG  ABUSED 
INDIAN,  THE  CITIZEN    SOLDIER  WHO  PREFERS  TO 
EXCHANGE  THE  LAURELS  OF  WAR  FOR 
THE  OLIVE  BRANCH  OF  PEACE. 


I. 


RETRIBUTION. 
RED. 

OUT  of  the  breast  of  Llamia  there  came 
Two  fierce  and  fiery  tongues  of  forked  flame  : 

Red  with  the  biting  bitter  blood  of  wars, 
Red  with  the  burning  breath  of  blazing  Mars  ; 

Twin  lava  streams  of  liquid  ^tna  fire, 
Lurid  with  lightnings  of  unquenched  desire ; 

Red  with  the  slime  of  serpents,  and  the  breath 
Of  venomed  scorpions  whose  sting  is  death ; 

Red  with  the  stain  of  deadly  night-shade  bloom, 
And  fruits  of  scarlet  sin  growing  in  gloom ; 

Red-ripe  and  poisonous  berries  clinging,  rank, 
To  mouldering  walls  and  ruins  gray  and  dank  ; 

Red  with  the  waves  of  that  deep,  sobbing  sea, 
Washing  the  shores  of  human  agony  ;  — 

Fed  by  fountains  of  shame  and  drops  of  sin, 
The  red  of  serpent  streams  all  flowing  in  ; 


222 


HESPERIA. 


Red  with  the  scourge-wounds  of  the  toiling  slaves, 
Their  warm  blood  bursting  beneath  gyves  and  glaives 

Red  stripes  of  silken  webs  of  infamy, 
The  warp  and  woof  of  horrid  misery ; 

The  red  of  wounded  birds,  bleeding  and  bare. 
Beating  their  breasts  against  the  blackened  air ; 

The  red  of  wine,  the  awful  nourishment 
Of  Crime  and  Poverty,  twin  brothers  sent 

From  Hades'  dark  and  slimy  serpent  bed. 
To  win  the  souls  of  mortals  to  the  dead.  — 

Red  with  the  million-forked  tongues  of  war. 
Lapping  hot  blood  and  hissing  fire  afar. 

One  serpent  stream,  coil  upon  coil  was  wound 
Hesperia's  sleeping,  lovely  form  around, 

Staining  the  milky  whiteness  of  her  breast ; 
Closer  and  closer  to  her  body  pressed, 

Fastening  its  adder  tongue  above  her  heart. 
Whence  all  those  liquid  streams  of  beauty  start. 

Then  Llamia  fixed  on  her  that  dread  eye. 
Waiting  to  see  the  lovely  maiden  die; 

The  pale  lips  paler  grew,  fainter  the  breath. 
So  feeble  now  it  seemed  a  dream  of  death. 


BENEDICTION, 


223 


When  lo!  the  serpent  swift  as  thought  unwound 
Writhing  upon  the  red  and  blood-stained  ground ; 

Sucking  a  stream  of  her  heart's  purity^ 
Its  poisoned  venomed  body  then  must  die. 

The  other  in  a  reddening  river  spread 
Far  o'er  the  plain  in  many  a  bloody  bed, 

Blackening  the  vernal  fields  with  slime  and  blood, 
Staining  the  crystal  streams  with  its  foul  flood, 

Its  undulating,  swelling  form  out-rolled 
Until  it  seemed  the  whole  world  to  enfold ; 

Then  when  she  looked  to  see  her  foul  work  done 
She  saw  its  fangs  fasten  upon  her  son. 

Long  fought  they  in  bitter  and  deadly  strife. 
Combating  each  for-  the  bare  boon  of  life,  — 

Such  life  as  that  which  feeds  on  craven  care 
And  asks  no  higher  boon  than  dread  despair ; 

Red  with  her  sins,  drunk  with  the  wine  of  blood, 
Stung  by  her  venom,  drowned  in  horror's  flood, 

Shrouded  and  wrapped  in  folds  of  fiery  flame, 
Shrieking  and  cursing  every  sacred  name. 

Her  dark  son  and  the  serpent  died  in  gore. 
The  ghosts  of  their  foul  wrongs  rushing  before. 


224 


HESPERIA. 


Out  of  the  white  of  day  and  the  moon's  light 
Beyond  all  sounds  of  rapture  and  delight, 

As  liquid  lightnings  hissing  in  a  spasm 

Sink  down  into  a  blackened  earthquake  chasm, 

As  sultry  summer  suns  pass  out  of  sight 
Red  shrouded  leaving  the  cool  white  of  night, 

As  Wars  and  Pestilence  and  Famine  die, 
When  the  whole  brood  of  Passion  Vultures  fly, 

Down,  down  'mid  all  her  legions  of  despair 
Leaving  the  white  of  peace  upon  the  air, 

Llamia,  red  with  self-consuming  flame. 
Sank  into  Lethe's  waters  whence  she  came. 

IL 

COMPENSATION. 

WHITE. 

On  a  white  mountain  top  a  Temple  white 
All  intricately  intertraced  with  light; 

White  with  the  ancient  Sea-foam,  crystallized. 
With  cloud-mist  Alabaster,  marbleized  ; 

White  with  snowy  Blossoms  and  bloom  of  Snow, 
The  white  above  meeting  the  white  below ; 


BENEDICTION,  22$ 

White  Pillars  corrugated  with  white  Light, 
And  Capitals  of  splendid  dazzling  height ; 

The  white  of  Pearl  all  wondrously  enwrought 
With  iridescent  hues  from  Sea-spray  caught ; 

White  Lilies-of-the-valley  sweetly  hung, 

Like  waxen  bells  by  Fauns  and  Fairies  rung ; 

Wild  white  Clematis,  starry  Lemon  flowers, 
Jasmine  from  far-off  blooming  tropic  bowers ; 

White  languid  Lilies^  pearly  passion  pale. 
Whose  incense  make  the  senses  fade  and  fail; 

White  images  of  every  perfect  form  of  Art 
That  are  of  Poesy  and  Bliss  a  part. 

All  crowned  by  a  white,  clear,  shining  Cone, 
Like  a  white  lily  cup  swung  from  its  home. 

With  pointed  petals  piercing  the  white  air. 

And  golden  stamens,  like  star-beams  swung  there ; 

White  winged  Birds  cleaving  the  white  clear  space ; 
White  Swans,  floating  on  each  white  cloud-mere's  face  ; 

Doves,  white  as  peace  and  full  of  dear  delight; 
White  Eagles,  soaring  ever  to  the  light; 

White  Virgins  breathing  vespers  low  and  sweet, 
Walking  the  shining  paths  with  snowy  feet; 
15 


226 


HESPERIA. 


White  with  the  Soul  of  purity  and  Prayer, 
Killing  and  thrilling  all  the  charmed  air ; 

White  with  the  Moon's  light  and  the  light  of  Day, 
And  snowy  Silence  holding  solemn  sway  ; 

With  Anthefns  all  unsung  but  gathered  there 
On  snow  white  wings  of  Song,  felt  everywhere  \ 

The  white  of  Purity  and  Truth  and  Love, 
Imaged  in  the  white  air  and  dome  above ; 

Fair  images  of  Youth  and  whitest  Morning, 

The  white  cloud-crowned  mountain  brow  adorning ; 

White  souls  of  Martyrs,  Saints,  and  Seraphim, 
Of  Infants,  Unborn  Babes,  and  Cherubim, 

Of  Angels  and  Archangels,  disenthralled 
From  every  chain  of  earth,  all  unappalled,  — 

Spirits  of  Magdalens  made  white  and  free 
Through  the  veiled  image  of  Divinity. 

Within  the  inmost  of  this  temple  white 
A  rare  pavilion  formed  of  woven  light, 

Pillared  with  dream-of-clouds  and  roofed  above 
With  snowy  flowers  like  spirits  of  love  j 

The  fleecy  clouds  their  diamond  dews  distilled, 
And  all  the  shining,  pebbled  basin  filled  ; 


BENEDICTION. 


227 


Upon  a  bed  of  water-lilies  lay 

A  Maiden  white  as  light  and  pure  as  day, 

Drinking  her  fill  of  sweet  and  liquid  rest, 

Pure  as  the  milk  from  fondest  mother's  breast  — 

White  rest  for  a  white  soul  so  tenderly 
Attuned  to  light  and  love  and  harmony  ; 

Soft  zephyrs  fanned  her  with  their  mist-like  wings, 
And  breezes  wooed  her  in  their  wanderings  j 

Then  odors,  star-shaped,  or  like  moonbeams  fair, 
Floated  above  her,  filling  her  light  hair  \ 

Then  came  the  Spirit  of  each  lovely  Flower, 
Bearing  sweet  music  with  its  matchless  power, 

Till  every  shade  of  unremembered  pain 
Vanished,  nor  left  the  slightest  sling  or  stain. 

Around  her  snowy  limbs  the  maiden  clouds 

Wove,  wondrously,  white  robes,  no  ghostly  shrouds  ; 

But  fleecy,  gauze-like,  floating  draperies. 
Like  drifted  snow  or  sea-foam  fantasies; 

The  winged  spirit  of  white  Bridal  Blooms 
Upon  her  bosom  breathed  their  sweet  perfumes, 

And  over  all  a  veil  of  woven  mist. 

Like  vision  vapors  by  dream  moonbeams  kissed, 


V 


228 


HESPERIA. 


Enfolded  and  enhanced  her  loveliness, 
While  evermore  around  her  soul  did  press 

Swift-footed  Dreams,  in  their  wild  wanderings, 
Uplifting  her  pure  soul,  as  one  who  sings 

Wafts  the  thoughts  heavenward  ;  holy  Desires 
And  Adorations  woke  their  vestal  fires  ; 

White  Aspirations  on  the  wings  of  Prayer 
Hovered,  attendant  Angels  everywhere. 

Over  the  snowy  surface  of  her  soul 

A  vision  swept  with  grand,  sublime  control, 

Deep,  clear,  and  full  of  wondrous  mysteries. 
All  Reminiscence  and  all  Prophecies, 

Moving  her  spirit  as  the  waters  move,  ; 
Waking  her  soul  to  rapture,  life,  and  love  : 

O  white  of  wedded  souls,  O  snowy  sphere 
Of  Purity  and  Truth,  whose  atmosphere 

Clothes  and  pervades  each  glowing  counterpart 
Of  life  and  Heaven  and  Deity  the  heart,  — 

As  the  sun's  rays  waken  the  sleeping  flower 
To  consciousness  of  beauty,  bloom,  and  power ; 

As  snowy  wedded  Swans  salute  the  Morn 
The  Bride  of  day,  whom  all  the  clouds  adorn ; 


BENEDICTION, 


22 


As  Souls  are  upward  drawn  from  the  cold  clay 
To  bathe  in  the  white  light  of  Endless  Day, 

She  rose  from  her  chaste  lily-bed  of  rest, 
Close  to  a  beating  heart  was  fondly  pressed, 

And  placed  forever  by  a  loved  one's  side, 
His  Lily  white,  his  own  Eternal  Bride  ; 

The  soul  of  rapture  and  all  pure  delight. 
The  white  of  Love,  the  image  of  God  white. 

IIL 
PROPHECY. 

BLUE. 

Out  of  a  heaven  of  blue  a  spirit  sped, 
Swift  as  a  thought  by  taunting  terrors  fed, 
Down,  down  into  the  deepest  ocean  bed  ; 

A  lingering  line  of  light  along  the  sky 
Turned  all  to  darkness  as  it  down  did  hie, 
And  sad  space  shuddered  with  a  sullen  sigh. 

Then  thought  I,  "  Tis  a  star  suddenly  stung 
By  fierce  rebellion,  as  it  blindly  swung, 
And  out  of  heaven  forever  it  is  flung ; 

Or  'tis  a  soul  haunted  with  horrid  fears. 

The  deeds  of  shame  and  thoughts  of  earthly  years, 

And  seeks  to  drown  them  in  an  ocean's  tears.'' 


230 


HESPERIA, 


The  waters  mockingly  engulfed  its 'light, 
The  darkness  of  the  waves  hid  it  from  sight, 
And  darker  round  me  closed  the  dreary  night. 

An  interval  of  struggles,  doubts,  and  fears. 
Measured  alone  by  tortures,  pains,  and  tears 
(For  sorrow  knows  nor  days,  nor  months,  nor  years), 

Out  of  the  depths  uprolled  a  single  crest 
Higher  and  prouder,  moving  all  the  rest. 
Bearing  a  burden  on  its  beating  breast; 

Then,  at  the  breath  of  some  silent  command, 
Quickly  there  burst  from  girdling  water's  band, 
Unfolding  like  a  star  in-  God's  right  hand, 

A  flower  pure,  —  its  shining  petals  spread 

In  azure  circles  o'er  its  emerald  bed. 

Like  music  or  pure  thoughts  above  the  dead. 

Blue  with  the  distance  and  the  blue  of  day, 
Golden  with  all  the  sun's  refulgent  ray. 
This  lovely  blossom  tremulously  lay,  — 

This  nurs'ling  of  the  wind  and  wave  and  storm. 
With  no  enfolding  earth  to  keep  it  warm. 
Wove  wondrous  garments  for  its  lovely  form  : 

Its  blue  and  golden  chalice  held  such  rare. 
Melodious  odors,  that  the  morning  air 
And  wild,  wide  waters  grew '  surpassing  fair. 


BENEDICTION, 


23 


This  blossom-land  its  loveliness  outspread 
Far,  far  and  wide,  o'er  the  deep  waters'  bed, 
Thrilling  the  rocky  shores  of  nations  dead. 

The  world  forgot  its  sordid  crimes  and  cares. 
Its  tortures  and  blind  fears,  its  deadly  snares, 
And  wonderingly  worshipped  unawares. 

The  Ages  yielded  all  their  hopes  and  fears, 
Pale  Errors  and  the  cruel  Wrongs  of  years, 
And  kneeling  on  her  shores,  bathed  them  in  tears. 

Sad  Sorrow  ceased  to  moan,  and  lo  !  her  eyes, 
Long  used  to  grief,  held  now  a  sweet  surprise, 
Changing  their  drops  to  dews  of  Paradise. 

The  nations,  lifted  by  a  living  soul^ 

Felt  life  and  rapture  o'er  them  swiftly  roll, 

Bowing  in  homage  to  their  blest  control. 

Tyrants  forgot  their  crowns,  their  sceptres  lay 
Silent  and  broken  'neath  the  light  of  day, 
And  one  supreme  spirit  o'er  them  held  sway. 

Disease  and  Pestilence  and  Famine  fled 

With  gory  War  into  oblivion's  bed. 

And  of  all  things  these  only  were  the  dead, — 

For  that  named  Death  was  but  a  boon  of  bliss 

Luring  the  spirit,  as  a  mother's  kiss 

Wins  her  sweet  babe  to  brighter  scenes  than  this. 


HESPERIA. 


Fetters  were  broken,  captives  saw  the  day, 
Prisons  no  more,  with  damp  walls  bare  and  gray, 
Filled  the  sad  earth  with  horror  and  dismay. 

All  things  were  vocal  with  the  voice  of  love. 
All  sounds,  all  silence,  in  her  breath  did  move, 
And  blue  of  earth  met  the  deep  blue  above. 

The  very  air  was  liquid,  and  the  sun 
Grew  pale  beside  the  glory  of  the  One 
Complete,  Eternal  Spirit  that  there  shone. 

Here  every  perfect  form  of  perfect  art, 
Holding  supreme  control  over  the  heart, 
Was  made  of  this  fair  land  a  living  part. 

Here  Angelo's,  Correggio's  rare  dreams, 
Through  which  Truth  ever  flashed  its  many  beams. 
Became  the  living  soul  of  days  rare  gleams  ; 

And  Saints,  made  lovely  by  their  deep  distress^ 
O'er  thorny  pathways  to  this  shore  did  press, 
Finding  a  spirit  like  their  loveliness. 

Here  music  without  sound,  the  soul  of  Song, 
Or  Poesy  unchained  to  words,  the  throng 
Of  harmonies  seemed  ever  borne  along. 

Each  Aspiration,  every  pure  Desire, 

The  star  of  Hope,  and  Love's  eternal  fire, 

Found  here  fit  recompense  for  Sorrow's  pyre. 


BENEDICTION, 


233 


Perfect,  the  waters  and  the  winds  did  move, 
Harmonious  to  this  azure  pinioned  Dove^ 
And  all  the  world  was  melted  into  love. 

Perfect  Twin  Spirits  interblent, 

All  loveliness  its  subtle  forces  lent, 

And  Heaven  its  highest  benedictions  sent. 

This  twain  made  One  by  Hope  and  Love  sublime, 
Not  lost,  only  obscured  for  a  brief  time. 
Restored,  erewhile  the  marriage  bell  shall  chime. 

Suspended  from  the  sky  a  sapphire  bell 
With  golden  stamen  tongues  and  softest  swell 
Of  melody  this  pure  delight  shall  tell :  — 

Above  a  mountain  blue  a  sapphire  dome 
Swung  like  an  azure  lily  from  its  home. 

Twin  sister  of  that  maiden  mountain  white,  — 
Pillared  in  the  same  clouds  and  crowned  with  light — 

A  vault  of  blue  like  the  deep  vault  above, 
Fitting  abode  for  Liberty  and  Love  ; 

Sapphire,  the  blue  of  heaven  pierced  with  gems,  — 
Stars,  set  in  manifold  bright  diadems  ; 

Turquoise,  the  w^hite  of  blue,  sea  dream  of  heaven. 
Fair  glimpse  of  love  to  the  dark  waters  given  j 


IIESPERIA, 


Violets  from  the  golden  cleft  of  sky, 
Wandering  waifs  of  heaven  flitting  by, 

Chiming  their  crystalline  and  starry  knells 

In  sweet  remembrance  of  their  home,  Blue-bells  ; 

Blue  of  Forget-me-nots,  a  prophecy, 
A  faith  in  love's  unfading  memory  j 

The  blue  of  the  deep  sea,  its  green,  its  gray. 
Floating  in  a  white  spirit  mist  away  ; 

Ocean,  blue  other  sky,  beneath  the  stars. 

Pierced  by  their  light,  crossed  by  their  golden  bars ; 

The  blue  of  day,  the  radiant  pure  air, 

Filled,  thrilled,  and  moved  by  a  deep  passion  rare ; 

The  blue  of  eyes,  made  of  the  sky  and  sea, 
And  gray  mist  veils  hiding  eternity, — 

Down  drooping  eyes,  like  lowly  violet, 

Love  laden,  and  with  shining  dew  pearls  w.et ; 

Uplooking,  filled  with  Faith's  mild  holy  light, 
Blue  like  the  sky,  and  gemmed  with  stars  like  night ; 

Truth,  blue  as  Ether  and  as  undefiled. 
Beautiful  as  fair  space,  or  as  a  child; 

Imagination,  on  thine  azure  wings 

How  the  soul  cleaves  the  air  and  sings : 


BENEDICTION. 


235 


The  blue  of  Reminiscence,  Prophecy, 
The  glorious  past  and  all  that  is  to  be. 

Wisdom  the  mirror  of  the  soul  and  shield 
Of  knowledge,  all  thy  golden  glories  yield  ; 

The  blue  of  the  empyrean  boundless  space, 
With  blue  of  distance,  hiding  God^s  white  face  ; 

Blue  for  the  bed  of  stars,  thy  palace  dome, 
Blue  other  side  of  God's  white  shining  home. 


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